Tag Archives: Thor

Marvel NOW! Teasers: ‘XX’ Revealed As A New Series, Plus New Artists & Story Arcs!

Okay. Everyone knows that Marvel is loving their teasers lately. And by lately I mean for the last few years. With the Marvel ReEvolution and Marvel NOW! happening as we speak, the teasers have been coming at us pretty hard for the last few months. This latest round introduced some new books, as well as some creative changes to ongoing series. Usually we cover stuff like this in Comic Rack, but with the amount of info we’ve been getting it gets upgraded to it’s own incredibly well written post!

Continue reading Marvel NOW! Teasers: ‘XX’ Revealed As A New Series, Plus New Artists & Story Arcs!

The Griz Bin: Gotham MadMen, Burton’s Avengers, Stan Lee is Iron Man and Batman’s Still a Dick

Today sees the return of The Griz Bin – a look of at the more random side to comics that has nothing (or at least not much) to do with films, TV or comic books themselves. And I’ve been given the keys! So hold tight as we look at toys, art, cosplay and general weirdness.

Continue reading The Griz Bin: Gotham MadMen, Burton’s Avengers, Stan Lee is Iron Man and Batman’s Still a Dick

‘Thor: The Dark World’ Set Photos & Rumor Report

With the announcement from CCI about Marvel’s Phase 2 of movies, the Thor sequel was kind of left in the dust behind some of the more enticing movies Marvel was planning. Captain America dropped the Winter Soldier bomb, along with the announcements of Ant Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy, so it’s pretty easy for Thor to get left behind.

But out of all the announcements, Thor: The Dark World is still left with the most mystery. We know which characters are coming back (pretty much all of them), and we know a villain will be Malekith the Accursed, played by Christopher Eccleston. What we don’t know is what the title references, general story ideas, or anything else really. Sure there is a lot of speculation out there, but the only concrete thing we know right now is that they are currently filming in Bourne Wood, England and have started constructing some sets.

Continue reading ‘Thor: The Dark World’ Set Photos & Rumor Report

Your Writer/Director for The Avengers 2 is…

Joss Whedon, come on down! You’ve just been chosen to continue on the path of greatness and while adding to your god-like status amongst the human population! According to several news sources, ranging from the Hollywood Reporter, EW.com, Newsrama etc., Joss Whedon is back in the saddle as your writer and director for Marvel’s The Avengers 2.

In the deal, Mr. Joss “I Own The World, Bow Before My Awesomeness” Whedon, signs a deal with Marvel Studios that keeps in the fold through the end of June 2015. In that, he will cover his duties as director and writer for The Avengers 2, as well as helping develop a live action series for ABC and, according to the Marvel Studios’ press release, “will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.” Basically, as I have read it, he will take the Jon Favreau role in making sure that the universe that Marvel Studios has cultivated will be ushered into the next set of movies, culminating in The Avengers 2 movie. You can bet that the TV show will deal in the Avengers universe and it is safe to say that it is NOT the Guillermo del Toro Hulk series being developed for ABC apparently. Excited much? Yessir. Let us face it, Joss Whedon knows his characters and his television. While not successful all the time in terms of nielsen ratings, his television shows always are great and at least will cater to the cult crowds and die hard geeks his drops his wisdom on. Plus if it’s set in the Marvel Universe, umm, insta-hit?

A live feed from the Whedon household after the deal

From a Hollywood perspective, this should be zero surprise of course. The Avengers has made 1.5 BILLION worldwide. A large part is because not only the commercial acclaim of putting together the most brilliant way to market your movie (uhh, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger? Yeah, those were basically marketing teasers for that movie, profitable ones too at the very least), but the critical acclaim that got people coming back for more. The onus on Whedon and Marvel was making sure the characters were enjoyable to watch and developed to where they both electrified the screen individually AND as a team. Whedon solidified the Marvel Studio’s universe in this movie because he made sure this ambitious project did not implode like a dying star. With egos and sheer enormous size of this project, this could have been an unmitigated disaster with everything that was going on but instead, Mr. Firefly himself controlled the movie and its stars (and the future of this universe) and made sure the next several movies are events flicks that people of all walks and sizes will need to see.

So let’s recap, this will be Joss Whedon’s universe for the next three years and with Iron Man 3 for May 3rd, 2013; Thor: The Dark World in November 8th, 2013; Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 4th, 2013; Guardians of the Galaxy launching on August 1st, 2014; with possibly Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man figuring into the equation too, this will probably confirm Avengers 2 hitting theaters in 2015, right when the contract ends. Not too mention the TV show that, crossing my fingers and just a hypothetical guess, will probably be S.H.I.E.L.D. related? Excited? You know it baby. So much that this ScarJo pic will be used to match the badassness of this news.

“Thor 2: The Dark World” Finds a Villain in Doctor Who

If you didn’t get enough of the Frost Giants in the first Thor movie, then never fear! Now we are getting elves! But don’t worry, it’s not the fair-haired Orlando Bloom type, but dark elves who enjoy killing people and causing problems. None love this chaos more than the leader of said dark elves; Malekith the Accursed – who will be the new baddie in the Thor franchise! Check out this malevolent bastard below:

Okay so he looks a little ridiculous but have no fear, has Marvel Studios steered us wrong since starting to introduce the Avengers in their movies? I think not! Not only has the villain been announced but the actor set to portray him has as well. Christopher Eccleston of Doctor Who fame is set to play the Accursed of Svartalfheim. For those ignorant savages who don’t know, Svartalfheim is the seventh of the nine Asgardian realms and honestly I only know that because I googled it. Check out the article below from IGN on the casting of Eccleston:

Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston has been cast as the primary villain Thor: The Dark World.

Deadline claims the 28 Days Later and Shallow Grave actor will play Malekith the Accursed in the Marvel sequel. Eccleston is no stranger to comic book-oriented fare having played Destro in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and having a stint on the TV series Heroes.

Malekith the Accursed is the leader of the dark elves of Svartalfheim, who in the comics stole the Casket of Ancient Winters. (The casket can be seen in the first Thor movie.) Malekith also had a badass servant, Kurse, who ultimately turned on Malekith and killed him. The Malekith and Casket of Ancient Winters storyline was adapted for an episode of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

To me, Eccleston has played enough over the top villains to get this right. Those include Destro in that movie that claimed to be G.I. Joe, a sociopathic furniture lover Calitri in Gone in Sixty Seconds and the crazy ass Major in 28 Days Later. Eccleston is best known over in the great nation of the United Kingdom for his stint as the 9th Doctor on the MEGA-popular show Doctor Who. I for one am glad to see him added to the cast, and can’t wait to see what he brings to the table – But a lame villain like Malekith. Bring it on Marvel!

CCI 2012: Westboro Baptists = Nothing Accomplished

Christians never cease to baffle me.

When I read about the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest of Comic-Con International, I had to make sure that I did not turn around and punch a hole in the wall.  Then I had to laugh maniacally at their antics.  Then I just had to shake my head.

Everything I have read about this church just makes me cringe; it appears they never do anything truly Jesus-like and right according to the Bible they supposedly follow.  This protest was no exception.  Now, the Bible doesn’t say “don’t protest,” but it does tell us to love one another as Christ loved us, and I don’t believe Westboro’s signs or actions at Comic-Con imply this one little bit.  Sure, their intentions may have been mostly correct, that they don’t want people to be idol-worshipers (no, Thor is not really God, and if you want a better understanding of how the Norse gods actually reflect biblical truths just read up on all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings regarding that).  I also don’t think it’s good nor sane to make idols of the subjects at Comic-Con, either.  However, I am guessing only 20-25% of the people who attend Comic-Con (if that) are actually putting our beloved superheroes, game developers, and all-around cool people up on a pedestal they can grovel under.  The rest of the attendees are just there to have a wonderful time, a break from the real world where they can delve into worlds of truth, honor, and justice (and isn’t that what the Bible says God is, anyway?  That’s probably an entirely new article, though…).

Are those 20-25% people really worth the time to protest?  No, because protests rarely work, if ever, and the majority of the time they are never fully thought-out correctly by whoever happens to be organizing them (even non-Christians).  In fact, protests only ever seem to accomplish one or all of these things:

1.  Turn away the people you are supposedly trying to help.
2.  Imply that you’re ignorant about the topic or haven’t truly thought about it long enough.
3.  Reveal that you’re insane.
4.  Confirm that you’re both #2 and #3.
5.  Show that you could be doing something better with your time to actually change the situation.

#1 and #5 I think are the most disconcerting out of that list, however.  As Christians the entire point of believing in God is to bring people to his love by showing them his love.  Protesting simply cannot ever accomplish this.  A while back, I read a very articulate article about the issue of protesting in the Christian world, specifically as it related to the Starbucks public support of gay marriage this past year.  I wholeheartedly agreed with the author’s point that protests are in essence self-defeating, as they claim to argue against power in numbers yet by their very nature are indeed a “power in numbers” group.  The author’s concluding thought was, “Let’s not boycott our neighbors. Let’s not picket or scream or bellow. Let’s offer a cup of cold water, or maybe even a grande skinny vanilla latte, in Jesus’ name” (Moore).

What this implies about Comic-Con specifically is that Christians need to start participating, working, or creating in that geek culture.  This relates back to #2 in my list.  I am going to venture a solid guess that most Christian protests are based off of fear of the unknown.  How many protesting Christians actually read Harry Potter?  How many of them have ever picked up a comic book?  And how many of them have ever studied the biblical truths that simply resonate out of many science fiction creations?

Have you ever run across a Christian geek and been utterly amazed at their very existence?  That’s because we are in the minority, and many times we don’t want to admit that we are believers, not because we are ashamed of our beliefs but because we are immediately associated with people like the Westboro Baptist Church protesters.  We are not all the same (though we really should be if we all truly followed what God teaches).  Some of us simply adore Batman instead of protesting him, and would have less to talk about with others if we didn’t know about him.  Some of us think discussing the finer points of the latest video game instead of protesting it helps make others feel more loved and accepted in this world, not shunned.

So Westboro may continue to protest for years to come, and there will undoubtedly be counter-protests, pointing fingers, and all-around disgust towards them.  Remember, though, that they were never able to actually shut down CCI, and probably never will.  Just as they are wasting their time, you yourself could use your time wisely by hanging out with the geeky Christians who love stepping inside the San Diego convention center, possibly even dressed head-to-toe in Wonder Woman or Thor getup.  You’ll hopefully find that not all of us are ignorant, and you may even enjoy the experience, too.

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