Movie Match Up

Happy Ho Ho Hulk month readers! Ya know what I love as a stocking stuffer? Movies, not only do they make you less fat than candy but they give you something to watch during the holiday season just like these two movies. Ang Lee's 2003 'Hulk' and Louis Leterrier's 2008 'The Incredible Hulk', today I'm going to review both of these movies in a head to head match up and we'll find out which one is a gift to jingle your bells and which ones a lump of coal, this is the movie match up.

So since these are both origin stories because the 2008 is a reboot lets start with origin. In the comics Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk after he saves his friend Rick Jones by pushing him out of the way of an atomic bombs explosion and he takes all the radiation, thus later causing the transformation into the Hulk. In both movies however they change this origin (Iron Man did too). In the 2003 version Bruce's father injects himself with a serum that allows for regeneration because he needs a human test subject after the military tries to shut him down. When his wife becomes pregnant Bruce gains the effects of the serum. This causes Bruce to become abnormal though we don't really see how other than the fact that he doesn't seem to react to pain much. Bruce later becomes doused with radioactive waves when he saves a friend from a malfunctioning machine that poured out radioactive nanites or something. This coupled with the serum causes the transformation into the Hulk.
In the 2008 version Bruce thinks that his experiments are for the key to radiation resistance but its actually a military scheme to achieve a super soldier like change through radiation. During a test on himself Bruce's amigdala absorbs the radiation through a GAMMA pulse causing the Hulk transformations to happen anytime he gets angry or excited. Now in the 2003 version we see him transform for the first time wreck stuff then try and figure out whats happening, and as much as i like an origin and a character realizing his power, the origin and the realization alone as well as the the first transformation took about 45 minutes of the movie at minimum. That's alot of time for character development wasted, oh and I should mention the opening credits are about 10-15 minutes long showing animals being dissected and test tubes, another pointless time waster. I love cult classic looks of a mad science lab but in this it was unnecessary. The 2008 takes the win here by quickly brushing over the entire origin in the opening credits, while at the same time establishing the villain and gives the Hulk a big foot-esque mythic quality all without a single word of dialogue! How do you like them apples!? Point for 2008.

Now lets move on to supporting cast:
The love interest in the Hulk comics is Betty Ross, the daughter of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, Captain Ahab to Hulks Moby Dick (please don't take any innuendo from that, though it is funny)and she is also a cellular biologist. In Ang Lee's version she is played by Jennifer Connelly who comes off as flat and at times very cold, she seems to care about Bruce only as a friend, now to be fair they are broken up in this film, but even when their romance is rekindling her flame seems dim. In the 2008 version Betty is played by Liv Tyler, who does a surprisingly good job in this movie. At first she comes off really mousey and sweet but when her father and his team are attacking the Hulk the rage and desperation in her voice as she screams for the General to come out is completely opposite of how shes been, she also seems genuinely in love with him, even in his Hulk persona we get a King Kong/Beauty and the Beast feel this, to me, makes her the perfect Betty. Point 2008.

As for villains the 2003 yet again butchers the Hulk. In the 2003 version Sam Ellit plays General Ross however he too also seems flat while he does seem to hate Bruce/The Hulk he doesn't have the madness or obsession. William Hurt who takes on the role in the 2008 version is not as intimidating as Elliot but he does have the madness down pact, he constantly appears haggard as if he was up all night thinking of how to capture the Hulk. Point 2008.

Now as for the monstrous villains, the 2003 version had Nick Nolte as Bruce's father David(a reference to the Incredible Hulk TV show with Bill Bixby), David douses himself with radiation and becomes a movie altered version of a Marvel comics villain known as the absorbing man. In the comic the Absorbing Mans name is Crusher Kreel and he has a different origin, and his abilities are to take on the attributes of anyting he touches, say turning to stone or steel, in the movie he becomes one with what he touches -_- therefore he is a hodgepodge mash up of pieces of rock, brick, metal and so on. The only cool parts are when he and the Hulk fight in the sky after David becomes lightning and him turning to water is kind of cool, but overall very anti-climactic. What really sinks the movie villain wise? Two words, Hulk Poodle. Yeah I'm not joking. David makes his dogs Hulk like and it looks stupid and the fight is nothing special.
As for 2008 Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination is great. He as a person is a bad ass craving power by any means necessary therefore he gets injected with an experimental super soldier serum that makes him fast, agile and strong. This sets up a great fight between him as an enhanced man versus the Hulk. And as he slowly becomes the monstrous Abomination the change is very convincing, he looks more depraved and greedy as time passes. The Abomination itself was amazingly designed and looked nothing but threatening plus the titanic WWF style fight including everything from helicopter blade swords to police car boxing gloves was purely epic. So that's another point for the 2008.

Now for the Hero:
In the 2003 version we have Eric Bana as Bruce Banner. He is awkward, and inspires no sense of a noble person. In fact throughout the entire movie he gives off a Norman Bates vibe, like he's secretly got dead people stuffed in his house and your next.

In the 2008 version we have Edward Norton, to me he is the definitive Bruce Banner in look and personality, I'm going to give Mark Ruffalo a chance but he has big shoes to fill. He is smart, calm, can appear angry, scared and he seems intellectually dangerous plus he looks and acts like a man who has a dark force in him that hes repressing. Point to 2008

As far as Hulk goes, 2008 no contest. He seems tougher and he looks like what released rage would look like if it had a form. He looks primal and savage but capable of kindness or at least tolerance. The 2003 version looked like muscle bound Lenny from Of Mice and Men, a slow and dumb creature that might cry if you called him names.


Now as for story the 2008 wins again, its got great focus on all characters and is developing stories for all of them which makes it an all around interesting movie. it shows almost every characters strength and weakness. But let me assure you this is not all one sided. There are many things the 2008 movie could have used that the 2003 version had. I loved the scenes where the Hulk really interacted with his enemies. Like the scene where he saves the jet from crashing and is flown up into the atmosphere, or him combating the tanks. And most of all I would have liked more roaming from the Hulk in the 2008 version. Like when he ends up in the jungle i wanted to See him running and making his famous Hulk jumps like in the 2003 version. However in that sentence is the thing that infuriated me the most in the 2003 version, this was the nail in the coffin. Constantly through the movie the Hulk, this massive beast that weighs at least a ton, is making mile high leaps and when he lands what happens? Nothing!!! No impact marks, no famous craters! For gods sake at one point he's skipping along small rock outcroppings and no pebbles fall! This may seem nit picky but I find that to be very lazy that no one gave him any real impact on his environment(pun intended).

So all in all in case you haven't guessed the 2008 version wins by a landslide! I definitely recommend it to those who haven't seen it, its a pretty good movie with a great cast! Thanks for reading and Happy Hulkidays!

Planet Hulk Review

Happy Ho Ho Hulk month everybody! Today we're continuing the Hulky goodness with my review of the comic series Planet hulk! If you like gladiators, renegade androids, aliens and radioactive superheroes then this is the comic for you.

So heres the story, The Illuminati which consists of Iron Man, Reed Richards of the Fantastic 4, Black Bolt of the Inhumans, Dr. Strange, Prince Namor, and Prof. Charles Xavier of the X-men, have all rallied together under Iron Man's request to decide what to do with the Hulk after his latest rampage destroyed Las Vegas. They devise a scheme, much to the objection of Prince Namor who says "the Hulk will return and kill you, and he will be right" epic! The trap results in the Hulk being sent to an uninhabited alien planet. At least that was the plan, the ship gets misdirected through a wormhole and lands on planet Sakaar which is a conqured gladiator like planet where inhabitants are constantly subjected to Darwinian challenges where only the fittest survive. Hulk becomes enslaved and meets a few other captives. immediatey he begins to stir up trouble. He kills several creatures and gets in a fight with the Red King (the ruler of the planet) but is soon knocked unconcious. Hulk then awakes, kills more creatures and is sent to a gladiator school and teams up with a rock monster named Korg and 6 other combatants and kills yet again more creatures.

This continues throughout the series with epic battles (including one with The Silver Surfer) and cool creatures! As well as Hulk becoming the new conqurer and taking a wife, and though the series ends in tragedy it births titanic vengence.

So my review, well the negatives are that the dialogue can be dull at times and the fights do get redundant, as well as the story dragging on a bit to long. But on the positives, it's epic, action packed, great story, i love th art and it has parallels to Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' if you've got the time I definately reccommend it. If you dont want to read it they also have a movie that was pretty good.

Thanks for reading as always!

The Hulk TV Series

Recently it was announced that the Hulk will be made into a TV series! Again!
The old TV show of the Hulk took place in 1978 and ran till 1982, it starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner(the name change instead of Bruce Banner was because show writer Kenneth Johnson didn't want the show to be perceived as a comic book show also to honor his son David) and Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk and was about the life and trials of Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Interesting notes, the origin was also changed to a lab accident that made David the Hulk instead of surviving an atomic blast(this was also the case in Louis Letterier's The Incredible Hulk), also as another interesting note, Johnson wanted the Hulk to be red instead of green cause it was more real and human, and also red was the color of rage. The show was about the life and struggles as well of adventures of the two.


This new show will feature Bruce in his 20's and will be a mix of CGI and practical effects. The best part Guillermo del Toro will be attached as a co-writer and director and be responsible for the look of the Hulk! For those who don't know, del Toro is responsible for the amazing make up and CGI effects for Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. He will also be working with David Eick, Eick is expected to co-write the script. With del Toros make up, story and mastery of effects this show could be "incredible"!

I can't wait and I hope you're all as excited as I am!

It's December!!!

Well it's the most wonderful time of the year again folks. The weather is freezing, wallets are becoming empty and several creepers try to make out with you by holding a poisonous plant above your head. Yes its December. In all honesty i love December, the weather is great, the lights are gorgeous and its got my favorite holiday ever! Kwanza!

Just kidding its Christmas! I love Christmas, especially the colors, the red and the green, but you know what i always think of when i see red and green together?

You guessed it The Hulk!


That's right this month will be all about the Hulk! Movies, comics, and history! I'm calling it Ho Ho Hulk month!

So stay tuned and hopefully this months theme will be a SMASH!

The Ultimates 1 Review

Hello again my friends and welcome to another installment of Avenger November! Today its time for the first review of two of the Marvel series The Ultimates. I have decided not to do a review of Ultimates 3 it was just too awful and poorly done for me to repeat any of it, even the art sucked. Anyways without further adieu here’s the review of The Ultimates 1.

Alright, so we start with Nick Fury, who is now modeled after Samuel L. Jackson, having lunch with Bruce Banner (The Hulk). He talks to him about how he’s been handling the Hulk and asks if there have been any “episodes” lately. Through Bruce’s response we find out that he’s on some kind of drugs that help keep his emotions and the Hulk at bay. Fury then asks how his progress is coming on the new Super-soldier serum (the formula that created Captain America) and Bruce replies that the closest thing they have to any significant results is that of the Hulk(green version). In this Universe the Hulk was created by an experimental serum instead of radiation from an atomic bomb, just wanted to point out the difference. Any who Fury then tells him that the government will fund his research on the condition he keeps the Hulk restrained. He then says that they are putting a team of special scientists and heroes together at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. He mentions that this team will include Hank Pym (Ant-man/Giant-man), who at this point has the helmet allowing him to talk to ants and control them but cannot shrink down yet. And Jan Pym (Wasp) who can shrink down, shoot stinging laser blasts and has wings. He also mentions that Tony Stark (Iron Man) has allowed The Ultimates to have him and his Iron Man armor in their team. We find out that Betty Ross (Bruce’s usual love interest, and still is here) is in charge of P.R. for The Ultimates and is, pardon my language, a total psycho bitch. She only cares about image, treats Bruce like dirt and has reeeeally weird fetishes (like getting turned on by Bruce when the Hulk eats an alien, WTF!). She asks if they had any luck getting Thor on board. We see a scene in which Bruce and Fury are trying to enlist Thor in some snowy place, I forget where. Anyways Thor is a green peace radical hippie and says he refuses to join the military industrial complex and kill for oil blah blah blah. He then shows off his lightning summoning powers from his hammer Mjollnir and that’s the end of their talk. Hank now settled in conducts an experiment on himself and through it becomes giant…and naked, it happens a lot.



So now Hank has Giant-man powers and is now a hero on the team. Then Fury announces that they’ve found the Captain America frozen in the ice.

They revive Cap and he freaks out, understandably so having been frozen in the 40’s. He lays the smack down on nearly everybody in the hospital room thinking he’s been captured and then jumps out the window. Suddenly Giant-man in an attempt to stop him uses his massive hand to nearly high-five him to death by smashing him! After they’ve calmed him down, he agrees to join the team. Now on to their first mission.

The Ultimates have had no crime to fight and people are getting angry about the government spending billions of dollars on them. This inspires Bruce to mix the Hulk serum with Captain America’s blood and inject it into himself, that and the fact that Betty is on a date with Freddy Prinze Jr. Anyways he Hulks out into the more powerful gray Hulk and goes on a murderous rampage killing hundreds of people. (This is where I begin to give my low marks and bad reviews on this comic) The Ultimates are called into action. They arrive on scene and Hulk is climbing a building to get to Betty saying if Bruce isn’t man enough for her then Hulk is and is basically threatening to rape her. Giant man smashes Hulk into a wall but then gets completely owned by the Hulk who threatens to use his head for a toilet bowl -_- (see image below)


Then Jan appears on scene, by the way Jan is very smart she has a double PhD and not to mention powers and what’s her plan for dealing with the Hulk…



Yeah she just flashed him ugh this is getting harder to write. The Hulk then remarks that he is incredibly horny and that he’s going to get her *someone please help me stop reading this* Cap comes in and wails on Hulk a bit but not well enough. The whole fight is resolved when Thor lets loose with a massive lightning bolt and lays him out. They take Bruce into custody and so on.

They keep the Hulks alter ego of Bruce a secret so that the people won’t demand his death and that no negative light will be cast on the Ultimates (classy). Afterwards we see Hank and Jan preparing for a celebration party. Hank with his inferiority complex plus the fact that he just got owned is feeling touchy and pissed. Jan makes one small comment and Hank flies off the handle and through their arguing we find out Jan is an actual mutant who lays eggs and eats bugs (gross and interesting) and then Hank hits her, hard, bare in mind this happened in the regular universe too, only difference is Hank goes way beyond one smack. Jan hits him back and he starts to really beat her, she shrinks down and then Hank sprays her with bug spray nearly killing her and when she flies off to hide, he has his ants attack her causing her to be hospitalized and near death.

Now we are going to do a quick summary on the things we’ll find out about these characters in this comic. Tony is an even bigger alcoholic than in the regular universe. He has to get wasted just to pilot the suit and womanizes like crazy also the only reason he’s helping is because he has an inoperable brain tumor and figured he’d do something worthwhile before he died.. While mentioning Tony I want to mention Jarvis. In the movies Jarvis is a computer, in the comics he’s a human butler very loyal to Tony, and in the Ultimates he is still a butler but is gay and lusting over almost every member on the team and is nothing but sarcastic to Tony. Bruce is neurotic and beyond whipped and the Hulk…ugh, well you already saw what the Hulk was like. The two mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch have pretty much done nothing up to now and kind of wont, at least in this comic. Jan is really easy; she gets around a lot trying to seduce a lot of people. Cap is great but can be a total a-hole and Thor is an annoying hippie who sleeps with countless groupies, so yeah not exactly the best heroes. I’m going to breeze over the next half of the comic because it’s actually pretty awesome and has some killer action that I can’t do justice with words so I recommend you read it for yourself. It has aliens, a conspiracy involving their influence over WWII and large scale fights. But to sum up we are introduced to Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, who in this is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a total badass and not to mention the most likeable character. He’s a family man, loves his wife, kicks butt and whips arrows like nobodies business, and Black Widow, also an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. They attack this corporate building that is actually full of aliens in disguise and it makes for some really epic action. We then have a war involving S.H.I.E.L.D., the Ultimates, and the armies versus the alien armada so yeah check that out.

Now for my overall review, I personally don’t like this comic, I think it’s awful. The characters are uninspiring, trashy, d-bags, violent, and ridiculously promiscuous plus the dialogue is crap. What I will give it though is it has great story ideas, it’s just executed poorly and I love the costume designs and changes…well most of em. Cap’s new suit in the present looks lame and Iron Man looks like a fisher price toy but otherwise many of them look great and more realistic. Where I give this comic the most credit though is the art. Bryan Hitch’s artwork is probably my favorite comic art. It has detail and amazing range and at some points is just downright beautiful. All in all I give it an 2.5/5. Check it out but be ready to have to push through a lot of crap.

Well that’s my review of Ultimates 1, in a day or so I should have Ultimates 2 up which so far has been much better. Thanks again for reading and sharing my pain.

Odd Avenger signing off.

Green Lantern Trailer

I know it's not Avenger related but I have an obligation to important and awesome comics news

Hello again everyone and welcome to another day of Avenger November! Today we will talk about the history of The Ultimates, but first a bit of background on the Ultimate Universe. Now the Ultimate Universe or Ultimate Marvel is a print of comic books published by Marvel and written Mark Millar with art by Bryan Hitch that features updated and modern versions of the superheroes. It launched with Ultimate Spider-man in 2000 followed by Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates in 2001 and lastly Ultimate Fantastic Four (my personal favorite).

The Ultimate universe takes place in a universe outside of Marvels Earth-616 the characters have reimagined origins which allow new readers to jump right in without needing to know the long histories of the characters, and I must admit often times these origins make more sense and are less convoluted, especially Fantastic Four, but we’ll talk more about that in February. On with the info!

The Ultimates starts with General Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who is now styled to look like Samuel L. Jackson(that’s why he plays him in the movies) who puts together a government sanctioned super team to handle the escalating problem of super-villains and otherworldly threats. This team includes an incredibly insecure Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Hulk, an even drunker and more rambunctious Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man and the scientist couple with the abusive egotistical Hank Pym a.k.a. Giant-Man/Ant-Man and “slutty” Janet Pym(not Van Dyne) aka Wasp. They all are based at S.H.I.E.L.D. facility called the Triskelion.
Bruce is in charge of developing a new super-soldier serum to create a new Captain America (he hadn’t been found at the time) and Hank and Tony are there to help create gear for the team. Later they are joined by a thawed out and more emotional Captain America, a hippie tree hugging yet insanely powerful Thor, the mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch(still the children of Magneto) and special agents Hawkeye and Black Widow. Together they battle the Hulk, aliens, androids, and other evil supers.

Well, I won’t say much more about it now since that’s what the first of 3 comic reviews will be about but stay tuned and the review of The Ultimates Series 1 should be up by tomorrow!

Thanks again for reading
Odd Avenger out

Avengers Assemble!

Welcome everyone to our first installment of Avengers November, now before I start I just wanted to state why this is the theme this month. #1 it rhymes and #2 With The Avengers movie coming out in 2012 I just wanted to give you guys a bit of background so following in that theme we will be covering almost all the different Avengers groups but the main focus will be The Ultimates because Joss Whedon (the Avengers movie director) is a big fan of the storylines from Ultimates, in fact he writes the foreword to the Ultimates 1 collection, and has said that the movie will be somewhat based off the Ultimates Universe. Also we’ll be covering the original Avengers because of course it will still cover the basics of the Avengers. So with that lets start with the beginning of it all the original Avengers.

Now the very first adventure that brings the Avengers together features the bitter Asgardian trickster god Loki, trying to get revenge on his adopted brother and arch-enemy Thor. Using an illusion, Loki tricks the Hulk into destroying a railroad track, after that he then diverts a radio call by for help by Rick Jones (Hulk’s/Bruce’s close friend who continually tries to help him but we’ll talk about that next month) to Thor, whom Loki hopes will battle the Hulk ending in the Hulk beating Thor to a long blonde haired pulp (my words not his). Unknown to Loki, the radio call is also answered by Ant-Man (Dr. Hank Pym), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) and Iron Man (Do you need me to tell you who this is? Really?). After an initial misunderstanding, the heroes unite and defeat Loki. Ant-Man says that the five made a great team and suggests they form a combined team. The Wasp then names the group "the Avengers" because it sounded "dramatic" Not because they are “avenging” something which a lot of people say or they question what they were avenging The original members are known as the "founding members" and are responsible for the name of the team and for carrying out the team's charter. As a result, their wishes regarding the direction of the team are given additional weight.

The roster changes almost immediately by the second issue, Ant-Man is now Giant-Man (instead of shrinking as Ant-man he now grows to epic heights) and, at the end of the issue, the Hulk leaves once he realizes how much the others fear his unstable personality. Feeling that the Hulks leaving were the other member’s fault they go on a search to find him and bring him back. This brings them to the North Atlantic where they discover Steve Rogers'(Captain America’s) body frozen in a block of ice, the Captain's uniform under his soldier's clothes and still carrying his iconic shield. After he comes too, they piece together that Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, surviving in such a state only because of the Super-soldier serum in his blood that made him Captain America. The block had begun to melt after the Sub-Mariner/ Prince Namor (another hero, another time), enraged that an Arctic Inuit tribe is worshiping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean. Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and although long out of his time, his vast combat experience makes him a valuable asset to the team. He quickly assumes leadership and has usually returned to that position throughout the team's history.

In later issues Steve Rogers resigns from being Captain America when he refuses to become a government sponsored operative/lackey. He would later return but in his place three new members join the team, all former villains. The first of these is Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye. He was an orphan who ran away and joined the circus, there he was trained in how to use a bow and arrow and sword by two other circus members Swordsman and Trickshot. He later discovered they were both criminals and he rejected them. He saw Iron Man on TV years later and decided to become a costumed hero, but on his first outing a misunderstanding leads to him being accused of theft. On the run he meets then Soviet Union spy the Black Widow who he falls in love with her and she uses it to trick him into helping her steal technology developed by Tony Stark. They fight several times and Hawkeye eventually goes “straight”. He later breaks into Avengers Mansion (located in New York and funded by Tony Stark) and captures their butler Jarvis (yeah the computer system from the movies was a person in the comics) and “applies” for membership and is stunningly accepted.

The other two members are the siblings The Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff and Quicksilver a.k.a. Pietro Maximoff. Both are the children of Magneto and after his disappearance feel their debt to Magneto is paid and decide to use their powers for good. So these are the basic members of the Avengers. Later on the team was joined by the Black Panther (think a Batman from Africa) and the synthetic human/android Vision. Now let’s get onto the story.

Now the Avengers have had countless battles and adventures so let’s focus on 4 major events (I’m leaving out the Kree-Skull war because that’s a lot of back-story)
The first major development was the breakdown of Henry Pym/Ant-man/Giant Man. The frequent changes of costume and name were symptomatic of an identity problem and an inferiority complex(especially when you consider at first he was a small man then a big man) this was the underlying cause of a shocking event when he abused his wife Janet Van Dyne/Wasp. After the abuse he lost the trust of the Avengers and failed to win it back with an elaborate ruse and then being duped by the villain Egghead, Pym goes to jail. This is later resolved when Pym outwits Egghead and defeat the latest Masters of Evil single handedly, proving his innocence. Pym reconciles with the Jan, but they decide to remain apart Pym also retires from super heroics but returns some years later.

Another major event is "Ultimate Vision" in which the Vision takes over the world's computer systems in a misguided attempt to create world peace. He is stopped and forgiven by the Avengers but is dismantled by government agents in retaliation. However the Vision and the Scarlet Witch had fallen in love prior to this event, have gotten married and had two children, but we later find out that both of the children are and illusion. This startling revelation and the loss of the Vision drives Wanda insane, although she eventually recovers and rejoins the team it comes back into play in the biggest Avengers event. This story also revealed that the Scarlet Witch's powers include wide-range reality manipulation.

In the last series featuring the original Avengers, "Avengers Disassembled” the story titled "Chaos", featured the deaths of some members and a loss of credibility for the team. The culprit is revealed to be the Scarlet Witch, who has gone insane after agonizing over the memory of her lost children and loses control of her reality-altering powers. With the team in disarray and Avengers Mansion ruined, the surviving members agree to disband.

So there it is folks, our first on a journey. Now the rest of these should be much shorter but we'll see. Next time(probably tomorrow) i will cover the Ultimate universes take on the Avengers known as the Ultimates and after that we'll begin our comic reviews of the Ultimates series. So thanks again for reading and stay tuned all this month for more Avengers!

Avenger November!

Sorry for falling off the map for so long, the new job is a killer,but I'm back and with a special treat! That's right a theme month!!! I know you wanted it, don't try to deny it :D Anywho for the sake of semi-rhyming this month is Avenger November! All month long I'll be posting blogs about the Avengers. All the different Avenger groups,a little history on them and casting ideas. I'll also be doing a comic review of the kinda controversial series The Ultimates, 1,2 and 3. And at the end of the month time willing I'll have a special thanksgiving treat! So stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Iron Fist Pt. 3

Welcome once again to my casting ideas for The Iron Fist movie. Thanks for reading by the way. Well this would be the third installment in the trilogy. The Iron Fist: The Immortal Weapons. This would follow my favorite and as far as I'm concerned best Iron Fist Story arc. Danny Rand finds out about the Iron Fists of the past and meets a man named Orson Randall, the Iron Fist before Danny. Orson explains he was the one who trained Danny's father and that there is a tournament for all the Immortal Weapons about to be held and Danny will be chosen to represent K'un-L'un. Orson and Danny fight several members of Hydra, who are seeking out a way into K'un-L'un. This all results in a tournament with Danny and 6 other Immortal Weapons of the different realms, one of them being the resurrected Davos. Meanwhile Danny unravels the past of his father as well as the intents of the enemy with the help of Heroes For Hire.

Without further adieu here is the casting of the other 5 Immortal Weapons

Dog Brother
Jet Li

Now I know this is a small part for Jet but he looks the part and it would be awesome to have such a great fighting master make an appearance in one of these movies.

Tigers Beautiful Daughter(Yeah that's her name)
Jamie Chung

She is supposed to be a very beautiful girl and have fighting skill, I think Jamie Chung suits this pretty well.

Bride of 9 Spiders
Fann Wong

I loved Fann Wong in Shanghai Knights. Bride of 9 Spiders specializes in, well turning into a mass of spiders and controlling them. I think Fann Wong looks the part and could play it well since she seems calm yet focused.

Prince of Orphans
Vigo Mortenson

Now I admit i got this idea and pic from someone else but i totally agree. I think Vigo would look it and play his mysterious nature perfectly.

Fat Cobra
?
I have no idea who should play this sumo like fighter. I don't know any large asian actors so that will be left up to you the reader.

Orson Randall
Bruce Willis

I'm not a huge Willis fan but I do acknowledge he's a badass and would play this part to a T.
He's gruff, tough and regrettful.

Young Wendell Rand
Garret Hedlund

I just like him and think he'd do a killer job.

Well there are my picks for all the movies and each plot idea. I hope you enjoyed and as i said if you have any suggestions let me know.
Thanks again for reading!

The Immortal Iron Fist Movie Casting and Script Ideas Pt 2

Now if you've read my other Iron fist post below then you know what this is all about. If not read it right now, just scroll down cause that's alot to type again and i don't wanna paste it. Any who so i think all movies should be done in trilogies so I have three script ideas for the Iron Fist trilogy, you already read the first one(if not once again just scroll down)so here is my idea for the second one.(cast picks after)

Plot:
This one would mainly be about the Origin of Luke Cage(don't know why i capitalized origin) and the forming of The Heroes For Hire crew. Don't know who that is? Well in the comics it's a group of super powered people who take assignments for people in need. It consisted of Luke Cage/Power Man, Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, and Danny Rand/Iron Fist. Oh and Jeryn is their unofficial leader kind of and their lawyer. Anyways we see the origin of Luke Cage where he undergoes a genetic experiment in prison(he was framed by a jealous friend) with the hopes of getting parole for it. The experiment gives him his trademark steel like skin and enhanced muscles. He then breaks out of the prison with his new strength and goes to find the man who framed him (Willis Stryker who has now become the criminal Diamondback and agent of the crime syndicate the Maggia family)along the way he encounters and fights Maggia members and attracts the attention of police and during a standoff, the Iron Fist shows up and attempts to stop him but is amazed at how Cage can take his hits and Cage is the same with the strength of Danny's punches. Anyways he explains he doesn't wanna hurt Danny but he has a mission. He tries to hit Danny but the punch is blocked by Misty Knight's new bionic arm and the two team up against Cage but Cage flees. The Maggia and Diamondback being aware of Cages return send more thugs to kill or recruit him. Since Danny and the gang are looking for Cage they get into some scrapes with the Maggia as well. It later ends up with a team up among Danny and the gang with Luke Cage to stop the Maggia once they see he is trying to take them down. The fight boils down to a match between Diamondback and his specialized throwing knives and Danny/Cage. It all ends with the forming of the team Heroes For Hire. A group that acts as a detective agency for those in trouble. Maybe they get a phone call about a case and headout. The end.

Now onto the casting:
I only have to pick two new people so

Eric King as Luke Cage/Power Man

Eric King is Luke Cage no doubt watch Dexter and tell me he isn't unlike the rumored Idris Elba King can actually play tough street and when you see him in a yellow shirt near the end of season 2 he looks just like him!



Michael Jai White as Willis Stryker/Diamondback

White is a great actor and i loved him in Spawn and he looks to me alot like Stryker

Well that's it. Stay tuned for part three. I promise the plot idea will be much shorter.
Thanks for reading!

My Immortal Iron Fist Movie Casting Picks And Story Ideas 1/3

That's right Marvel recently announced that they will be making an Immortal Iron fist movie. For those of you who don't know the Immortal Iron Fist is a martial arts superhero comic about a boy named Daniel Rand. His father, Wendell Rand is a wealthy business man who discovered the mythical city of K'un-L'un(which only appears on earth every ten years) when he was a boy and for a time was a student in the city but eventually left where he became a very wealthy entrepreneur in the U.S. He later took his wife, son Daniel and his business partner Harold Meachum up the mountains to find the city of K'un-L'un again. During the trip Daniel fell pulling his parents with him. Harold, who also loved Daniel's mother, forced Wendell to fall to his death and offered to save Daniel and Heather, but she refused. They traveled alone and later Heather sacrificed herself to a pack of wolves to protect Daniel. Daniel had arrived at the city and was taken in. He tells them he wants revenge so they teach him their sacred form of martial arts. He ends up being the most gifted student and gains incredibly tough iron like fists after defeating a fabled dragon. He then later leaves K'un-L'un to get revenge on his fathers killer, Harold Meachum. Thus begins the stories of the Iron Fist.
(Long summary i know)

So heres my ideas for the cast i hope you like them and if you have any suggestions let me know.

Danny Rand/The Iron Fist
Jensen Ackles


Danny Rand is the is the main character and the hero known as the Iron Fist. Now originally i thought the perfect role for Ackles was Ghost Rider, and i still do but thinking on it, its too much like Supernatural so I decided to choose him for the secondary role i liked him for. I think he'd make the perfect Iron Fist. He looks so much like him and he could play Danny's tough, semi-smug, funny, badass, man with a mission personality perfectly. And I'm sure with training would pull off amazing fight scenes!

Ryan Phillipe is my second choice for Danny rand for the same reasons


Harold Meachum
Tom Sellick


Harold Meachum is the man who kills Danny's father, he also later has his own company.He makes several attempts on Danny's life. When Danny confronts him he finds Harold is legless from frostbite and a pathetic shell of a man Danny has mercy and leaves him, but as he does a mysterious ninja appears and kills Meachum. I think Tom Selleck could play a conniving jealous monster really well and also seem pathetic enough to where you pity him, plus he looks alot like him.

The August Personage in Jade/Yu-ti
Randall Duk Kim

Yu-ti is the hooded ruler of K'un-L'un and the one who takes Danny in. Randall Duk Kim would be great for the role, he can play stern and wise all at once and still has some moves.

The Thunderer/Lei-Kung
Chow Yun Fat

The Thunderer is the trainer of Danny. He teaches him all the techniques and is the father of Danny's rival/arch-enemy Davos/The Steel Serpent. Chow Yun Fat would do great in this role. He can fight has a stern and wise voice and could play the gentle understanding side.

The Steel Serpent/Davos
Donnie Yen

Davos is Danny's arch-enemy, he feels that he was cheated out of being the next Iron Fist and that his father betrayed him by accepting Danny. He becomes enraged and gains similar combat powers and swears to kill Danny Rand. Donnie Yen is the perfect cast suggestion. He looks alot like him and I've watched his fight scenes and hes awesome.

Jeryn Hogarth
Stephen Root

Jeryn is the helpful lawyer to Danny and eventually the unofficial leader like figure of Heroes For Hire. You may know Stephen in the other roles he's played. Dodgeball, OfficeSpace, and Bill from king of the hill. I think he'd be great as this stressed guy but at the same time under control and knowledgeable.

Misty Knight
Zoey Saldana

Misty Knight is a former NYPD police officer. After an accident she gains a new bionic arm from Tony Stark endowing her with super strength and later joins Heroes for Hire and becomes Dannys love. Zoey Saldana would make a good fit cause she could play a well respected and tough independent female fighter.

Collen Wing
Devon Aoki

Colleen Wing is a skilled samurai and was sent to meet Iron Fist by her father. They soon became close allies. Devon Aoki is a beautiful asian actress, she has the looks of Colleen and has already played a swordsman in the Sin City movie.

Story Idea:
I want the original origin of Danny, with the trip to K'un-L'un and him being trained to fight and gaining the power of the Iron Fist. Then I want to have it that Prof. Lee Wing(Colleen's Father) sends Colleen to meet him when he arrives in New York and help him settle and adjust. Then have Misty still on the police force and be the cop that is after Danny following him through the city trying to stop him. They have a few moments of "tension" and in the end they more or less team up when Davos appears. Davos in this story is the ninja that assasinates Meachum. He calls Danny weak for not killing Meachum and expresses why he should have, then compares it to what Danny "did" to Davos and challenges him. They fight, other thugs of Davos' are attacking and Colleen helps out as does Misty. Then after the fight Davos says that its not over, he wont lose. He sets off an explosion and Misty saves Danny from it but loses her arm in the process and Davos dies. In the end Danny decides to stay and defend the city. I want the ending to have Misty in the hospital getting her new arm from Robert Downey(Stark) an this will be shown more in movie 2.

My Batman Villain Casting Suggestions

After the release of Chris Nolan's Inception and a recent buzz about an actor from the movie playing the next Batman villain possibly, he's perfect by the way,I have decided to remind us of his perfect castings in the past for the amazing villains so far and since villains in every Batman movie have come in pairs, suggest my two choices.
Liam Neeson as Rahs Al Ghul

Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face

And of course Heath Ledger as The Joker

Looking back that is some of the best casting in the history of movies, so whats next? Well here are my suggestions for the next two villains and the actors who should play them.
First off Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Edward Nigma aka The Riddler, now this was suggested by others and as a recent article stated Nolan loves to cast from his pool of core actors so Levitt may be a natural. I and my friends think this would be a phenomenal choice. Levitt has great range and in the past has played crazy yet cool very well, plus he looks the part.

As the supporting villain i think it should be Deadshot. In the comics he is an assassin specializing in sniping who offers his services to anyone. Even more interesting is that Deadshot always wants to die, or at least doesn't care if he does as long as it's spectacular.
I think it would be a great story if The Riddler comes in trying to find out Batman's identity and A.either hires Deadshot as a way to lure Batman out or intimidate him, or B.someone else hires him to kill Batman, so now we have to villains competing for the Bat one in a methodical yet insane way and the other in straight out killing. I just think they would be a great complimentary pair. Who would i like to play this assassin that never misses, well i like Tom Jane, he was the Punisher in the Marvel movie in "04 and i think he has the great intensity and right look to pull this role off.

Well there's my suggestions, regardless i cant wait for the next movie. Let me know what you think of the choices or if you have any of your own.
Thanks for readin.

Good News!

Marvel has regained the rights to The Punisher! Maybe we can see a really good Punisher movie now! To be honest i liked the first one but it could be much better! They have confirmed they will be making one, im excited!

Avengers Movie

This weekend at Comic-Con a star studded cast made an appearance to announce The Avengers movie!Robert Downey Jr.(Tony Stark/Iron man) Chris Evans(Steve Rogers/Captain America) Chris Hemsworth(Donald Blake?/Thor) Samuel L. Jackson(Nick Fury) Scarlett Johansen(Black Widow) Clark Gregg(Agent Phil Caulson) and the newly cast Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye all came out in full force. The crowds screamed and roared at easily the most infamous cast. It was a proud day for comic fans like me yet some still complained. No I'm not kidding. Some "fans" are saying they wont see it or that it will suck because there is no Ant-Man and Wasp. First off that's not 100% guaranteed. For those who don't know Ant-man/Hank Pym and Wasp/Janet Van Dyne are founding members of the original Avengers in the comics. They are interesting characters but by far are not the most essential to the movie. I'll be honest I'd love to see the whole group of Avengers on screen but as far as the movie goes not casting them makes sense. Their powers in the comic are basically to shrink really tiny or grow very large. Now for them to play out in a movie with the rest of those titanic mythic characters would first off mean they have to have an enemy that can actually be affected the their size changing abilities. So someone very large or small or needs to be disabled by small people so that would suck trying to find a fitting villain. Also another reason is with shrinking we'd have to draw away from the epic characters to show Honey I Shrunk The Kids graphics of small characters. Would you really look at that with awe alongside Iron Man. Also to grow large then we have this massive character that eclipses the others by comparison. Imagine a scene where the Avengers are fighting then suddenly a massive giant appears on screen saying "I'll lend a hand" do the other Avengers seem that tough now? However it can work if they say, have to infiltrate an enemy's base, or in the case of Skrulls, a ship, then their size changing would be great and cool and work really well together but otherwise it's not very fitting for the movie.

There are also people saying they won't see it cause of Mark Ruffalo as Banner or Chris Evans as Captain America. What is the deal?! Yeah it sucks Norton is gone and maybe they could have cast a better Captain I agree, but really people? You haven't even seen them try their hand at these roles yet(this is also happening with the Spider-man recast) and you're jumping the gun saying they'll suck! Mark Ruffalo is a good actor and Chris Evans in the movie Sunshine shows he's a great actor and leader. So just wait before you slam. Like i said in a previous post "Ill give Ruffalo a chance" and most importantly, the poeple saying they won't see Avengers for these reasons, you're really turning down a movie with this cast, mythos, and characters cause one is not who you like or one is missing? Wow that is ridiculous and I doubt that's real fandom. I mean look at this!

I personally couldn't be more excited for this movie as well as Captain America and Thor and will be on pins and needles till then.

As always thanks for reading

The Hulk Recast

At Comic-Con this weekend it was announced that The Hulk will be played by Mark Ruffalo for sure in the Avengers movie. As I said in my previous Hulk post I think Ruffalo will do alright and i still stand by that. However after some consideration I feel that sadly replacing Norton may have been the smart move. Norton does have a reputation of being "difficult" to work with in Hollywood but only in the sense that he always wants more done,like deeper character development, which as far as I'm concerned isn't a bad thing.( however he gripes when it doesn't go his way) However in a movie such as the Avengers where Banner(Norton's would be role) will be minimal, probably only a few scenes, and where every actor needs to be taken care of, Norton's attitude of wanting to rewrite scripts for better character development that HE feels are right(this is what happened in the first Hulk with Norton)would be an inconvenience and more than likely cause spats on set and slow production. I love Norton i really do i think he's a great actor and guy but he has made some arrogant moves, and trust me I did my research(3hrs.) and more than one director has made this claim of difficulty on Norton,the biggest one, at least relating to the Hulk was even though eventually the studio did allow him to write parts of the script, he later refused to promote the Hulk, which is kinda part of the whole acting in a movie thing. So maybe it is best for the big picture to change him. However I do stand by my statement that Marvel was being a massive group of D-bags when they made the statement "he didn't embody the role and they were looking for someone better". Dick move. He did embody the role, he just didn't embody the movie. And it also was about money as well im sure. But the bottom line seems to be they want someone who can go with the flow and do interpretations of their character but not mass rewrites like Norton. So it's a plays well with others scenario.

Like I said I love Norton I do, and heck he loves to create deep character develpoment so much that I think he should try directing I honestly think he would be amazing at that, and I really really really do wish they would have kept him for Avengers because he was the perfect Banner. But they didn't so we as a group of fans regardless of what happened, and we will never know cause these 2 groups will never sit down and tell their sides fully have to move on and realize the bigger picture. WE HAVE A FREAKING AVENGERS MOVIE!!! XD

P.S. Those thinking my reporting was one sided alot of my research came from Lois Letterier's(the director of the first Hulk with Norton) statements and he agreed with Norton on wanting more character development and was on his side but even his and Norton's statements say that Norton wanted to the script his way cause he felt he had a good grasp which kinda says he wants it to be his movie.

Norton Not Returning As Hulk For Avengers Movie

Cue the sad walking away song

Unfortunately it's true, it has been confirmed that Edward Norton will not be reprising his role as Bruce Banner in the upcoming Avengers movie. The reasons aren't exactly confirmable but more than likely this was about money. More likely not that Norton wanted to much, because he has been very excited to do this movie since the Hulk, but because Disney/Marvel wanted to pay as little as possible for the role of Banner since the Hulk is more the star in Avengers than Bruce. At least that's what it is in the comic. Whether or not that will be true in the movie will effect how angry i will be about Norton not returning. However they did have differences in the first movie. They got into a spat cause Norton wanted a more detailed Hulk story whereas Marvel wanted it doen quick. But i say whats wrong with having a guy love the character that much. It would have made the movie better if there was some more detail but whatever. Anyway, Marvel recently tried to paint Norton in a negative light so they didn't come out as bad guys, by saying he didn't embody the role or have the right stuff. Well from the amounts of angry comments and statements Marvel has received over that statement it seems that many disagree. I am one. I loved Norton's Hulk! He looked a lot like him, he was nerdy yet strong and he was easy to root for. Well according to his agent Norton had negotiated the role with Marvel then at the last minute they backed out and said they were going another direction. Norton being a sport holds no grudges and has posted this statement to his fans on facebook.


That statement right there seems to prove he was the right man for the job. However as much as i hate to say it Norton is gone. Period. I have to except it and move on. Now Marvel has already announced who they are getting to replace Norton.

That's right it's Mark Ruffalo. No I don't think this is the best choice but it's pretty good and looking on the bright side they could have done sooo much worse! Now Ruffalo does carry the timidness of Banner the occasional charm, and i could root for him and i do like his role in Shutter Island, and Just Like Heaven and so on. I think he'll be able to do this pretty well at least i hope.

My biggest concern is that they will change the way the Hulk looks to look like Ruffalo. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT MARVEL! IT WOULD BE A HUGE MISTAKE! Look I get replacing the actors I guess but changing the way the Hulk looked would be stupid. He has to carry over into Avengers and plus he looked so damn awesome! Other than that i will be able to deal. At least as long as it's 95% Hulk and 5% Banner otherwise i will feel like they totally jipped Norton. Whatever may come here's hoping that it's awesome!

Spider-man has been cast!

Finally Spider-man has been cast! Andrew Garfield will be the brand new Webhead in the upcoming Spider-man reboot. He is an American born british actor, that means his dad was American and he was born in America but his mum is British. Now lots of people have been trashing this upcoming movie saying it will be crap because it's not Toby Maguire or cause he's british or the other ones were so good, or why did the change all the actrs for the 4th movie? Well to state this plain and clear cause it's not being said clearly enough. This is a reboot of the whole series of Spider-man, it's not a 4th. This series will be closer to the comics so hopefully more like Spider-man unlike in the current movies, now it will be about Peter in highschool. That may be iffy but at least it will distinguish Spider-man's story from the rest of the Marvel heroes. Instead of another adult saving the world which i think will make it more liked by kids. Also the reasons for this reboot are: one that Sony needed to make a new Spidey movie or they had to sell rights back to Marvel, this is'nt solely a Marvel decision so don't get mad at them. Two, the last movie turned many off from the series because of Raimi's terrible work, i mean for gods sake he took the most notorious Marvel villain Venom and made him dull and unterrifying plus it became so corny and campy, so they needed to bring people back therefore the director change was neccessary, And three with the harrassment of Spider-man 3 the actors were less than enthusiastic to come back so they needed a new cast. Those bashing Garfield, he has big shoes to fill and with that weight on his shoulders im sure he'll give it his best. The movie may suck it may be amazing or just okay, but wait till the trailer before we judge.

Personally i think he will do great! I've seen him in his other roles such as Boy A and he is charming and can play awkward and funny and gawky and loving ansd sad all really well. Plus his crying face looks good versus Toby's 3 year old fat baby face cry from Spider-man 1&3. Not to mention Garfield does look pretty close to the part. Plus that looks like a guy you believe is nerdy and weak but at the same time could throw on that tough fight face. I can't wait for the reboot! Here's to hoping it's amazing.

The Dr. Strange Movie

Reports have surfaced that Marvel/Disney has hired writers Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write the script for a Dr. Strange movie. For those of you who don't know who he is, Stephen Strange is a sorcerer, actually the sorcerer supreme. He possesses many magical abilities and items. His origin i he is a world-renowned but selfish neurosurgeon, until a car accident damaged his hands, preventing him from conducting surgery. Depressed he searches the world for a cure to his condition, Strange locates a hermit called the Ancient One in the Himalayas and is taught the mystic arts.

I love Dr. Strange!

Already an actor has approached the role, who is it? Patrick Dempsey.


Now definitely he looks the part at least facially and he has already played a Doctor, but i don't know if he's right for the part. His acting fluctuates. He's god sometimes and awful others. But what makes me want him to get the role is that he jumped for it so eagerly that he would probably give it his all.

However Dr. Strange has to use magic and chant and have an odd yet arrogant vibe to him. I personally think the best man for the part is Johnny Depp.


He plays this kind of role so well, Secret Window and the Ninth Gate are great examples. He could pull it off with the cool suave intelligence and looks so much like him. I think he could RDJ this character and would make this movie great. But like i said Dempsey isn't bad either.

Regardless i think this movie will be great and i cant wait for more details.