Tag Archives: Marvel Comics

Marvel: 75th Anniversary Special, Age of Ultron Footage, & Agent Carter

Comic book fans have probably now had time to regain their sanity. DC Comics dropped a bombshell with news of their planned slate of upcoming films. Then Marvel Studios came into the picture and dropped the mic themselves by announcing their next slate of movies. The comic medium is really taking over film and television in a big way – and next up, Marvel’s ready to celebrate their 75th anniversary (it’s Batman’s 75th too!). To celebrate its three-quarter century of existence is a TV special – Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!

This hour-long documentary will delve into Marvel’s humble beginnings in 1939, all the way up to their current reigns as media darlings. Emily VanCamp (star of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and ABC drama Revenge) will host this introspective look into the comic book entertainment juggernaut. You can expect to see plenty of archival footage, interviews with the company’s most noteworthy personalities, and a peek into the future of the brand.

Do yourself a favor and pay homage to Marvel by checking out this Tuesday night special (November 4) at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will have the week off, which sadly means no Adrianne Palicki in that awesome Mockingbird costume, but it should be interesting none the less.

mockingbird-palicki - Agents of SHIELD

Also coming to Marvel Tuesdays, during SHIELD‘s mid-season break, we will see Haley Atwell reprising her role from Captain America as Peggy Carter. We got our first trailer this week.

And speaking of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they were set up for a nice ratings boost as the first trailer for May 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron was supposed to premiere during their show. However that was blown when those pesky Hydra operatives leaked it online last week. So on Tuesday night, we instead got this extra bit of sneak peek awesomeness. You gotta love the way Thor squirms as Captain America almost lifts his hammer.

Finally, as with any footage that is beloved by the internet in general – we’ve got a couple fun ones. First, the Pee Wee Herman voice over. Jimmy Fallon always finds fun stuff for his guests to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTYyUTGvKB4

And in our last piece of Marvel news, check out this perfect mash-up of the 1st Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer backed by Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On. Yeah, that song. The theme from Titanic, the movie your Mom forced you to go see with her.

We gotta admit, though – this song gets us just a wee bit more amped than a Pinocchio song. Celine Dion – 1, Pinocchio – 0.


 Images: Marvel, ABC

Grizzly Pullz: New Comics for the Week of 10/8/2014

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly comic pull list! I love my weekly trips to the comic shop on Wednesday, but with so much coming out every week it can be a little overwhelming. So I will be sharing my picks of the week, every week, whether it is comics I am following religiously, or checking out for the first time. Whatever your taste, there will be something here for you!

Continue reading Grizzly Pullz: New Comics for the Week of 10/8/2014

Venom Fan Film – Eddie Brock: Truth In Journalism

Welcome to another installment of Unknown Fan Films where we delve deep into the World Wide Web and select for you some of the best and most interesting fan films that you might have missed.

This week we look at Truth In Journalism, a film which focuses on one of Spider-Man’s most ferocious enemies – Venom. Or to be more precise, it focuses on his alter ego, the disgraced journalist Eddie Brock.

Eddie has become further corrupted since his days at the Bugle, and the saddest thing is he doesn’t even know it. The only truth to be found here is in Eddie’s real personality change, or what Eddie perceives to be true journalism. Certainly Truth In Journalism focuses on a type of reporting, whether this is considered to be the best kind of journalism is left up to the viewer to decide. Here is what director Joe Lynch and producer Adi Shankar has to say about his project.

[quote] “This was 200% pure “passion project”, a dream come true for a comics ‘n cult-film loving fan to work within two distinct worlds I grew up loving. As a lover of mixing pop culture into storytelling, in a Warholian way, TRUTH IN JOURNALISM is pure ‘Pop Art’. I’ve rarely been as proud of something I’ve created as much as I had with this project and thrilled the TRUTH has been unleashed to the world. To CineMAAA!”  – Joe Lynch

“I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that as a feature film producer I shouldn’t dabble in television, web content, or even comic books … that thinking perpetuates the consumerist mosh pit we are now desperately trying to dig ourselves out of. I have a burning desire to entertain and different mediums allow me to do this in different ways. These shorts are as much a part of my filmography as the movies are. I’m here now, I’m inevitably going to die at some point, and as an artist I feel an ardent urge to constantly be creating. ”  – Adi Shankar. [/quote]

Like Man Bites Dog director Joe Lynch takes the documentary approach with a French crew following Eddie around the streets of New York. The black and white gives the film a crisp, realness to it that makes it thoroughly engaging (the scratches on the film add another element of realism to it). There are some nice little touches to – Eddie working out (which happened quite a few times in the comics), talking about the events after the Bugle (when he became Venom), talks to Venom in the bathroom and instantly gets changed, ties up villains and the shocking ending.

Unknown Fan Films truth in journalism eddie 3

Actor Ryan Kwanten (from True Blood) really brings to life the character of Eddie, more so than attempt in Spider-Man 3. Not that his attempt was bad, it’s just has more time to get engrossed in the character and bring him to life for us. And he certainly does that, with his black attired clothing and common man attitude he does come off as a likable guy but there are scenes that pop up that show the menace underneath (a key scene involving a stab victim begin one of the shocker scenes). This sense of underlining menace builds up to a truly sinister and quite disturbing ending where Eddies true self comes out. This scene alone is incredible, using the shock techniques seen in  many a homemade horror flick, but used correctly (and very similar to the ending of REC). Not to give to many spoilers away but this is handled perfectly and for once it actually makes Venom seem alien, like something not of this Earth and most important it makes Venom scary. Director kind of knows the darkness of this scene because he gives us a nice (and very funny) cameo from one of Marvel comics most well-known killers.

Unknown Fan Films truth in journalism eddie 2

A stunning short to watch and in just 15 minutes manages to tell a story that Spider-Man 3 with his compilation of characters really struggled to tell correctly. This version of Eddie is dirty, gritty and more importantly shocking. A must see for all Spider-Man fans but fans of good quality movies should also check this out to.

Unknown Fan Films truth in journalism venom

Grizzly’s Casting Couch: ‘X-Force’

With the recently rumored X-Force film in development with Fox, speculation has begun over the possible members of the team and of course, who would be playing said mutants. Obviously there are no characters confirmed at this early stage of development, but recent tidbits from director Jeff Wadlow and Fox’s Cinematic Universe Consultant Mark Millar concerning the construction of the team and its members have opened the door for a unique team of X-Force to tackle Hollywood with.

The Setup: X-Force, a team of mutants led by the mysterious time traveler known as Cable, takes on missions that threaten the future of mutantkind. Their latest mission is to find a missing group of New Mutants who will potentially be important to the X-Men in the future.  X-Force discovers that the kids have been kidnapped by Mr. Sinister, a mad mutant geneticist, who is served by the deadly mutant killers known as the Marauders. Awesome action ensues, the X-Force team grows as New Mutants join up, and a future trilogy is hinted at, with Cable’s long time foe Apocalypse as the overall villain.

Continue reading Grizzly’s Casting Couch: ‘X-Force’

Revolutionary War: A Who’s Who Guide to the Marvel UK Characters

Recently we discussed the return of the Marvel UK characters to the Marvel Universe, so it now seems appropriate to give you a list of who you may be seeing when Revolutionary War comes out. This list covers pretty much every major character that appeared in the Marvel UK comics. Some characters had to be left aside (like The Transformers, who had a huge run of comics through the ’80s in the UK that were separate from the other Transformer titles that were published in the States) just because it is highly unlikely that they will be part of this story due to the copyright issues involved.

A lot of Marvel UK titles focused on time travel and alternative Earths (Like Earth 811) which sometimes had their own set of heroes and villains, so continuity could get confusing and that is why for the most part I have left year dates out of the characters histories unless it is essentially to know. They also work heavily with magic and a lot of the characters here are in some way magically enhanced or created by magical means. So here they are in all their glory, the heroes and villains of Marvel UK.

Black Axe (First Appearance 1993)

Marvel UK

Born over 10,000 years ago, Black Axe (real name unknown) looks human but is actually from another (unconfirmed) race. He has adventured in ancient Egypt and Japan, but retired when he felt the challenge was no longer there. The sinister company Mys-Tech contacted him to find a Hydra scientist who had discovered the immortality gene. This leads to a series of encounters with Death’s Head and Mephisto himself. After recovering from these events he used his secret identity as Robert Hyde to visit Wakanda and come into contact with the Black Panther. It is here were his story ends as the title was cancelled after 7 issues.

Dark Angel (First Appearance 1992)

Marvel UK

Mys-Tech board member Ranaulph Haldane incurred Mephisto’s wraith when he turned against him and was murdered for his trouble. His 21 year old daughter Shevaun witnessed the Angel of Death coming for her father and she was given a fragment of the universe by the Angel (and some body armor) to help her control her new amazing powers. She met quite a few Marvel characters while fighting Mys-Tech (including the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and The Avengers) and she was involved in the Mys-Tech War which had her turning back time to save all the super heroes that had died in the confrontation. She now works for MI: 13.

Death’s Head (First Appearance 1987)

Marvel UKDeath’s Head originally appeared in the Transformers comic, but soon had his own comic book series. He is a robotic bounty hunter who was famous for saying “Yes” at the end of every sentence and essentially being a mix between Humphrey Bogart and Dirty Harry. He has teamed up with The Fantastic Four, Iron Man and even Doctor Who during his adventures and will no doubt be a big part of Revolutionary War.

Marvel UKHe was given a make over in the Death’s Head 2 comic book and was given a side kick Tuck (a replicant who was originally hunting Death’s Head 2 but teamed up with him instead). Though Death’s Head was killed by Death’s Head 2, his personality transferred into this new body. Death’s Head new body had multiple personalities which he could access at any time. One of them even got his own body and became the cyborg killer Die Cut. He also had dealings with main stream Marvel Characters (mainly The X-Men). A.I.M scientist Evelyn Necker was a big part of Death’s Head 2 problems (as well as being the creator of his new body) and she created numerous other cyborgs to try and replicate her success with Death’s Head 2 (or minion as the project was called). She created Death Wreck (a huge metal beast with a tiny brain) and Death Metal (a killing machine made from a fusion of magic and metal) who all ended up joining Death’s Head 2 for adventures.

There was also a Death’s Head 3.0 but this seems to have no direct link to the Death’s Head mentioned above. In the latest Iron Man story arc set in space, Death’s Head is now back to a modified version of his original look, though when this change occurred is unknown.

Digitek (First Appearance 1992)

 Marvel UK

Scientist Jonathan Byrant was working for the Msy-Tech Corporation studying an artifact brought to the group by their team of Warheads (see entry below). Jonathan had a vision that his supervisor was going to sabotage the artifact, and arrived at the building to stop it, only to be caught in the explosion. The artifact bonded to Jonathan, turning him into a computer styled hero called Digitek. Digitek apparently killed himself rather than become part of the super hero registration in Civil War, but as he is part computer he survived and turned up in MI: 13.

Dragon’s Claws (First Appearance 1988)

 Marvel UK

In 8162 The Claws are a team that engage in an unknown sport that involves teams trying to take territory from each other. The team members are all now living peaceful after the games have ended, but are brought back into action by N.U.R.S.E. (National Union of Retired Sports Experts) to stop other former teams of the sport that are now causing trouble in society. N.U.R.S.E. turns out to be corrupt and a confrontation is soon on the cards between the group and their former employees. They eventually do succeed and defeat N.U.R.S.E. after an epic battle, where a few Claw members die.

Killpower and Motormouth (First Appearance 1992)

 Marvel UK

Killpower is a huge mercenary created by Msy-Tech Corporation with no morals and the brain of a child. In a mission to retrieve some stolen hardware he meets the young girl who had stolen said hardware, who is unfortunately shot in the throat. Killpower uses his advanced skills to repair her throat, using the hardware he was sent to retrieve. Motormouth (a street punk style teenager) takes Killpower under her wing and teaches him right and wrong, all the while avoiding Msy-Tech troops. Killpower turned up in MI: 13 and acted as an under cover spy for them when he was turned into a vampire (his magic based origins meant he was immune to Dracula’s powers).

Knights of Pendragon (First Appearance 1990)

 Marvel UK

Captain Britain is sent to the Amazon rain forest to rescue a friend of his that has become insane with a new acquired power. When he arrives, following the obligatory fight scene they discover that the ghosts of Lancelot and Gawain have possessed both parties. Gawain is resurrected and they head off to find the Green Knight, who they believe might be behind the problems. Gawain sacrificed his power to heal the Green Knight, who in turn used his power to bring a new team into the world. The team was last seen in Secret Invasion when the Skrulls took over all magic in the UK.

Mys-Tech (First Appearance 1992)

Marvel UK

The main baddies of the Marvel UK universe, these members had complete power over all the characters in this universe. In 987 seven mages sold their souls to Mephisto (who pops up regularly in this universe) for immortally. All they have to do in return is constantly send him souls. Though operating as a legitimate business, the real work was conducted below in an underground lair where the group mixed magic and science to create new ways to keep the souls coming to Mephisto, as well as trying to stab each other in the back and trying to find a way out of Mephisto’s grasp . They were in part responsible for the creation of Death’s Head 2 as well as other heroes in the Marvel UK comics. Their work culminated in the Mys-Tech Wars, when they fought Marvels greatest heroes.

Super Soldiers (First Published 1993)

Marvel UK

This was Marvel’s attempt to expand the super soldier program first seen with Captain America, and told the British side of the story. Using bio-chips, the government created these soldiers who eventually disbanded after a mission went sour. They are reunited to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., and some of the characters popped up in a Civil War story arc. The main thing most people remembered about this series was that it was pretty much a carbon copy of the Universal Soldier movie for the first few episodes.

Warheads (First Published 1992)

Marvel UK

The Warheads were an expendable force employed by Msy-Tech to collect rare and powerful artifacts from the future and alternative timelines using a wormhole style technology. Tigon Liger was the leader of the group and one of the only constant members, as a lot of the Warhead’s crew would get killed on missions. This was one of the best parts of the comic, pretty much anyone was expendable. When they wanted to quit it turned out that their bodies had become addicted to the wormhole travel, and so off they went off on another adventure. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

Wild Thing (First Appearance 1993)

 Marvel UK

Nikki Doyle lives on Earth 8410, a world where the superhero boom ended in the ’80s and where technology now governs everything. Virtual Reality has taken over and hardcore users have turned to illegal programs to get their fix leading to a new underground crime ring. Nikki is obsessed with playing new games so much so she lands herself in jail. A sinister company called Arcade discovers that Nikki has an amazing ability; she can jump into and manipulate VR games. She is given leave of prison if she works for Arcade and does missions for them inside VR programs. She agrees and takes the name Wild Thing. It is unknown what has happened to Nikki as the title was cancelled within a few issues and the story was never finished.

So when Revolutionary War comes out remember to have this check list handy, as you will never know who may turn up! Thanks to Wikipedia and  Marvunapp for their help in compiling this list of the Marvel UK‘s greatest comic heroes and villains. Both of these sites have information on these characters if you want to read up further.

SDCC 2013: ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ – Character Portraits & First Look at Bishop!!

While it’s still early in this years SDCC, Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past has already started to make a pretty big splash. Early today we got our first look at a Sentinel head (presumably a scaled down version of it) which you can check out here, and now we get to see a viral campaign based around Trask Industries, the creators of the Sentinels led by Peter Dinklage’s character Bolivar Trask. You can check out the new but relatively slim Trask Industries website, as well as some of the promotional materials from SDCC after the jump:

Continue reading SDCC 2013: ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ – Character Portraits & First Look at Bishop!!