For the week of September 20-26: Tokyo Game Show 2009 is upon us. RUN! Also, Halo 3: ODST
NEW RELEASES
Halo 3: ODST
Out this week is Halo 3: ODST. You may have heard of it. This time around, you are playing as a Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST, get it?) Personally I would prefer to play as a Goof Trooper, but life’s not perfect now is it. The time line of the game runs along the Halo 2 events and rather than the linier play though of a typical Halo game, ODST is structured a little differently.
As a Shock Trooper, you’ll be exploring an open ‘hub’ world looking for missions activated by finding special objects. A short movie will play showing the history of why the object you’ve found is the way it is, an then you play a mission based around that particular event.
Since the game is based on the Halo 3 technology, expect it to look and play a lot like Halo 3. It should be also noted that the game comes with a second disc containing all Halo 3 multiplayer maps currently available and more maps and modes have been added.
The good guys over at giantbomb.com have done a review of the game in the video format.
NEWS
It’s fall, and that can only mean one thing. That’s right, the Tokyo Game Show! You can think of it as the E3 of Japan, but only smaller with less announcements and a lot of games you probably don’t really care about.
Unlike E3, two of the days are open to the public and boy to the people ever turn out. Back when I lived in Japan, I made the trek out to Chiba a couple of times to attend the show and totally ran into Cammie from Street Fighter. At least that’s what s/he told me…
Ha, ha. Yikes! Those are some mad muscly thighs.
So while the games are fun and interesting, I find the articles of what the foreign press is getting up to be much more interesting. Because much of the time, it’s their first time to Japan, or they’re experienced and go to some really cool places. Jeremy Parish of Retronauts and his crew from 1up.com are currently in Japan and have been posting some great footage of all the retro game stores they’ve been hitting during their stay.
“I always wondered why nobody did it before me.I mean, all those comic book movies and television shows, you’d think at least one eccentric loner would have stitched himself a costume.
Is everyday life really so exciting?Are schools and offices really so thrilling that I’m the only one who ever fantasized about this?
C’mon.Be honest with yourself.We all planned to be a superhero at some point in our lives.”
Did you?I did.Do…whatever.I want to fly, make constructs with a power ring, take people’s powers and memories by touching them, fly around with a lasso in an invisible jet and scream a scream that would make your head explode.One day I’ll figure out how to unleash my super powers.I could always fall back on Plan B where I sit in a wheelchair and have a super computer in a tower.I currently have a MacBook in a basement.Almost there!
Well, I read that dialogue above from the first page and Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass won me over.The second page had the poor guy getting his testicles electrocuted.Now doesn’t that sound like a riot?Do you guys remember how excited I was for the panel at SDCC?No?I was stoked.True, it was more geared towards the upcoming movie but I still popped a squat through a panel or two to see the cinematic interpretation of the book I loved.
The entire premise of the book is outrageous: comic book fan buys a wet suit on ebay and decides to fight crime.Yeah, okay-that’s not outrageous.How about a foul-mouthed ten year-old girl that partners up with her father in taking down drug lords via some awesome sword work?Closer.
Dave Lizewski is a high school student that reads his fair share of comic books and finds himself bored enough with his own life that he decides to patrol the streets of New York in a wet suit.His brilliant superhero name?Kick-Ass.His main concern?How many friends he has on MySpace.He’s more confident when he’s got his costume on underneath his clothes, so he’s getting to be a bigger hit with the ladies.He meets another masked vigilante and they become friends.Things are going great.Then when they meet Big Daddy and Hit Girl, Dave finds himself a little in over his head a.k.a. electrocuted balls.
The seventh issue of Icon’s ongoing story hit the stands today.It completely lived up to the action and humor of its former counterparts.
There’s a lot of gore; I won’t lie to you.John Romita Jr. manages to lighten it with his cartoon-like style.Hit Girl is a little unsettling at first, but it’s really become her book.The whole thing is dark and twisted but it has this good-natured innocence to it.It’s as if I were living the life of a superhero.Even though I’d try to turn out like Hit Girl, I’d turn out like Kick-Ass.I know it.
Have you been good this year?Do you feel you unrewarded for some unnamed feat of heroism?Did you not punch that one guy at work in the face?BUY KICK-ASS.You deserve it.No, don’t wait for the trade.You’ll probably be waiting forever.These issues take a while to come out.There are reprints of the earlier books.If you like fun and don’t flinch at curse words, you’re going to love it.
For the week of August 23-29: Price cuts, Blizzcon, Batman and the Diabolical Box. Also the arcade dreams are made of!
NEWS
Last week Sony unveiled the new Playstation 3 Slim along with a much needed price cut to a competitive $300. Microsoft, never one to be shown up, followed suit this week with a price cut of their own and announced that they will be phasing out the Xbox 360 Pro model and cutting $100 off of the Elite to bring it down to $300. The remaining Pro models will be cut to $250 while supplies last, the only difference being color and the 60 gig hard drive. 1up.com has the full story.
Man, I remember buying a brand new console for $200 and it came with two controllers and an amazing game…
Blizzcon was this week. Honestly I don’t play World of Warcraft and don’t intend to. Those of you who do, have already gobbled up all the info you could and don’t need me telling you what you already know. To those who haven’t heard the news, Blizzard announced a new expansion called Cataclysm. Some are calling it some what of a WOW 2 considering they are redoing all the graphics through out and changing the game from the bottom up, so early parts of the original game may now take place later and be for only stronger characters and a few differences throughout the game world.
Also they announced a new Monk class in Diablo 3 and talked about Starcraft 2. For more information, head on over to the official Blizzcon site.
NEW RELEASES
All you brainiacs better get your think on because a new Professor Layton game for the DS is coming your way; Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box!!! My match stick puzzle skills are still sharp from the last time around and I am ready to bring this shit on!
For those not in the know, Professor Layton is a game developed by the fine people at Level 5 and published by Nintendo and entails a Professor and his boy accomplice as they solve whodunnit type mysteries and are challenged with a barrage of brain twister puzzles all set in a wonderfully animated world reminiscent of Les triplettes de Belleville.
Peep the trailer if I’ve caught your interest. I adored the first game and can’t wait to dig into this. Japan has already seen the third in the series come and go, so only localization stands in the way of our getting the third as well.
Also out this week is a game I’m sure a few of you have been waiting for and that’s Batman: Arkham Asylum. If you’re reading this on friday, you may still find it available for $39.00 CAD in select stores. I’ve been hearing a lot of positive feedback about the game which is promising. There is a demo available to give you a taste and at $40, it’s sure to be a good time. One thing to note is that the developers made the smart move and got the cast of the Batman animated series to do the voice work for the game, so Mark Hamill as the Joker as it should be.
Justin Calvert over at Gamespot gave the game a 9.0 out of a possible 10 which may sound high, but is right in line with the current score of 91 at Metacritic.com. To see if you agree with his views of the game, check out his video review.
And finally, to close out this week, we’ve got G.I. Joe’s playing scaled down coin-op machines, which I might add, are fantastically detailed. Thank you to saturdaymorningcentral.com for bringing it to my attention and you can see the full line up of machines over at the creators Flickr stream. Hats off to Big J.W. for putting his crafty skills to such a fine cause. Each machine is $20 bucks, custom build and worth every penny.
I’m going on a much needed vacation for the next 2 weeks so I won’t be able to fulfill my weekly post, but keep your eye on Giant Killer Squid as always for all the news that matters. Aloha!
Gavin here, and I really had a hell of a time talking to Jason about all things gamer and anime and everything. He runs www.harlancore.com, the amazing home of the BoxPunx (and now the DollPunx too). We talked about a great deal of things here so without further ado I give you part two of my talk with Jason Harlan!
CONTEST CLOSED: Congratulations to our winners Stephanie and Edward.
We here at Giant Killer Squid are incredibly excited about Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglourious Basterds, and to prepare for the release of the film and it’s soundtrack we’ve teamed up with the fine folks over at FILTER Magazine to bring you a pretty sweet giveaway.
Two lucky winners will receive a special limited edition 7″ vinyl for David Bowie’s song ‘Cat People’ from the Inglourious Basterds soundtrack.
How do you win one of these bad boys? Easy.
Between now and Monday, August 17, 2009 send an email over to contest [at] giantkillersquid [dot] com with ‘INGLOURIOUS BOWIE’ in the subject line and include your full name and address.
Winners will be announced and notified via email on September 1st.
Stay tuned for more cool giveaways!
*Only residents of the UNITED STATES are eligible to win this time.
We’re still nine months away from the release of Iron Man 2, so you know what that means: marketing time. What better way to get fans crazier than they already are than with some good ol’ fashioned viral marketing. Marketing strategy has always been a creative venture when it comes to Hollywood, and what was perfected (and arguably originated, in terms of film promotion) with The Dark Knight now lends itself to Iron Man. So here’s what we’ve got going.
If you head on over to www.StarkIndustriesNow.com you will see that you are now on the Stark Industries homepage, and greeted with what appears to be a hand-written press release from Tony Stark himself. Typical, Tony Stark writes his press releases on coffee mug-stained napkins.
The napkin reads:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WE NO LONGER MAKE WEAPONS!
Sincerely,
Tony Stark
(Pepper, pls post exactly as is!)
Oh that Pepper Potts, he said exactly, not literally!
Now, there’s a link at the top of the page that says “JOIN STARK INDUSTRIES”. If you click that it takes you to an online job application for Stark Industries. It’s a form that asks you basic questions as any job application would, when can you work, your address, etc. then it goes on to ask you some pretty interesting ones like
A plane flying past a non-moving observer has kinetic energy in the reference frame of this observer, the same plane has how much kinetic energy in the reference frame which moves with the plane?
and
What term describes the superposition of two or more waves resulting in a new wave pattern?
Fun stuff! So I filled the form out, as best I could, and hit submit.
Well, moments ago I received this email from Kay Baker at Stark Industries:
Hey there!
Thank you so much for being one of the first people to apply for a job at Stark Industries. So far, the response has been incredible. You are among the best and brightest and your interest in joining our ranks is truly appreciated.
Already we have an overwhelming number of applicants and we plan to take our time thoroughly investigating each one. It may be a long process, but it is the only way to ensure that we find the absolute best candidates to work at Stark Industries.
We will contact you soon as we narrow down our selection.
All the best,
Kay Baker
Verrrry interesting. I like where this is going. I guess now we wait and see what happens, but this is a really good way of engaging the hardcore fans, and fun alternative to just sitting at home and waiting. If I were to guess anything, this will lead to some fun reveals like images or even a trailer, ala Why So Serious?, the Dark Knight viral.
Until then, we’ll keep our eyes on the inbox and let you know what happens next. Head on over to Stark Industries and apply yourself!
If you haven’t heard of actor and musician Miles Fisher, I get the feeling you soon will. Miles, the all-American, familiar-looking performer is taking the internet by storm with his latest music video ‘This Must Be The Place’, a Talking Heads cover, inspired entirely by the best scenes from American Psycho.
This could be one of the best examples of character emulation I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to use the term ‘impersonation’ or ‘impression’ because it just doesn’t do justice to how well Miles has captured Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. And you know what, the music is really solid. I’ve had the song stuck in my head all day and I keep going back to the video.
Watch it now (minor NSFW warning for girly panties and a comedic simulated sex scene).
This isn’t the second time Miles has stormed the video channels; he was featured in the spoof movie Superhero Movie in an unforgettable scene where he yet again absolutely nailed a Tom Cruise parody. I didn’t see that flick so I can’t make a comment on it, but I have watched that Tom Cruise clip a dozen times.
Now head on over to Mile’s official site, www.milesfisher.com – right now he’s got a FREE ep of tunes (including the track mentioned here); it’s all quite good. I see a strong future in store for this cat.
Ahoy, consumers. It’s Tuesday so you know what that means – new release day. This week is kind of all over the place, but there’s one big release, featuring a certain emerald-clad guardian, that I’m looking forward to and will review soon.
Here’s the notable releases for Tuesday, July 28th, and remember, any purchases made via Amazon through the links on this page will save a person’s life. Or at least line my pockets and give me more drive to keep the content coming… you cheap bastards.
- The aptly-titled fourth film in the highly-successful brought back the original cast for another testosterone-filled, two hour rap music video in which Paul Walker talks in a voice that’s actually lower than his natural speaking tone. If you like suped-up cars and ridiculous cliches then you’ll love this one.
- The wildly successful reimagining of Battlestar Galactica gets the full-series treatment on Blu-Ray. This 25 disc set will put you back at least $200 and features every season of the show, the original mini-series and the Razor feature. All that in a super cool Cylon package.
- Yes, some folks made a Dragonball movie. Yes, apparently it licks donkey dink. No, I won’t be buying it. No, you probably shouldn’t. Save your money for a full-print button-up Dragonball shirt.
- Now this is the title of the week, DC’s new full-length feature telling the origin of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. DC is on a roll with these animated films, I tell ya. Reviews so far have been really positive for this particular title, and I myself can’t wait to pop the Blu-Ray in.
Come back next week, same bat time, for the scoop on the new releases.
Hard to believe another year has passed, but once again the musky scent of fanboys and girls is in the air which can only mean one thing: It’s Comic-Con time.
The San Diego Comic-Con, or SDCC, is without a doubt the biggest and baddest comics and entertainment convention in North America. So big, in fact, that it has long shed the stigma that conventions are only for dorky, full-print spider-man shirt wearing, albino basement nerds. It is quite the opposite in fact, and drives hundreds of thousands of fans and celebrities through the doors of the San Diego Convention Center each year.
Throughout the four-day geek extravaganza, attendees are privy to such nerdish delights as hundreds of vendors and booths, exclusive merchandise and free swag, celebrity/genre star autographs and meet-and-greets, film/comic/tv panels with huge stars, special sneak peaks and screenings for big future releases. There’s so much going on each year that it’s impossible to see everything.
Just as we have the last few years, GKS will report on those juicy big tidbits (umm, eww?) as they arise; SDCC is a mecca for awesome news and has dropped some heavies in the past like our first glimpses of Iron Man, the cast of Indiana Jones IV, Watchmen footage, the Tron sequel trailer, etc.
Well the Con is less than one week away, and the programming schedule has been released. If you’re attending the show, here’s some of the must-see attractions, and if you’re not attending, here’s what you’re missing out on:
Wednesday – Preview Night
Warner Bros. Pilot Screening – Three hours of pilots! Warner Bros. will screen some of their upcoming new fall tv lineup including, Human Target, V, and The Vampire Diaries. 6-9pm.
Day 1 – Thursday, July 23
Masters of the Web – If you’re into film-writing, like me, then this is a must-see. Masters of the Web is a panel collecting some of the biggest contributors in online film-writing. Lord only knows the kind of trouble getting all these guys together will bring. Panelists include Robert Sanchez (IESB.net), Ryan Rotten (ShockTillYourDrop.com), Mike Sampson (Joblo.com), Jeremy Smith (AintItCoolNews.com), Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com), Drew McWeeny (HitFix.com), Devin Faraci (Chud.com), Paul Christiansen (MovieWeb.com), Vic Holtreman (Screenrant.com) and George Roush (LatinoReview.com). Giant Killer Squid’s invite must’ve been lost in the mail. There’s always next year. 10-11am.
DC Talent Search 1 – Learn the tips and tricks and get the inside scoop for getting into the comic book industry and what the main folks at DC look for. Also a great chance to get your work reviewed. You never know, you could be the next big artist. 10:30-11:30am.
Disney 3D – Check out some footage from the upcoming Disney 3d features A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland and Tron. Guests include Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton, with moderation provided by the insanely awesome Patton Oswalt. This is a must see. 11-12:30.
Hasbro G.I. Joe – This panel is all about G.I. Joe, from the new Rise of Cobra movie to the action figures old and new.11:30-12:30.
Marvel: Breaking into the House of Ideas - Much like the DC talent search, this is your chance to see what it takes to get into Marvel HQ. 3:30-4:30.
Terry Gilliams Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus – Acclaimed director and animator Terry Gilliam introduces his newest, highly-anticipated film, featuring the last performance of the late Heath Ledger. 4:30-5:15.
Pandorum – A film we at GKS are all excited for, Pandorum, gets it’s own panel. Producer Paul Anderson and star Ben Foster are guests. 5:15-5:45.
Kick-Ass - Check out the very first footage for the movie Kick-Ass, based on the Mark Millar/John Romita Jr. comic book. The panel includes director Matthew Vaugh, and stars Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, co-creator/artist John Romita Jr. and a special guest. 5:45-6:30.
Green Lantern: First Flight Premiere – Warner Bros. and DC Comics present the world premiere for their next full-length feature based on one of the most popular superheroes of all time, Green Lantern. 8-9:30.
Trick ‘R Treat Screening – This film is as elusive as it is well-reviewed. Come for a screening of Trick ‘R Treat, a darkly funny horror film, and stay for the panel moderated by Harry Knowles and featuring Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. 9pm -12am.
Day 2 – Friday, July 24
Warner Bros. Preview – Check out previews and sneak peaks for some upcoming films from Warner Bros. including Where the Wild Things Are, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jonah Hex and Sherlock Holmes. 10-12:30.
Mattel & DC Comics – News, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes on all the great products from the partnership of Mattel and DC. Expect some cool stuff from DC Infinite Heroes and DC Universe Classics toy lines. 11-12.
Caprica/Battlestar Galactica: The Plan – It’s all things Battlestar Galactica and Caprica.11:45-12:45.
Marvel: Cup ‘O Joe – Marvel’s editor-in-chief Joe Quesada answers questions and reveals some surprises. 2-3.
Sony Pictures: District 9 – Producer Peter Jackson and director Neil Blomkamp introduce District 9, the highly-anticipated new sci-fi film. 3:45-5.
Joss Whedon Q&A – The creator of Dollhouse and Firefly answers your questions. 5:15-6.
Entertainment Weekly: Visionaries – A discussion with Peter Jackson and James Cameron. 6:30-7:30.
Totally Rad Show: Live! – Alex Albrecht, Dan Trachtenberg and Jeff Cannata film a live episode of their award-winning web-series. 7:15-9:15.
Day 3 – Saturday, July 25
Marvel: Dark Reign – The brains and brawn behind Marvel’s ongoing storyline converge in a panel to let it all out. and Matt Fraction are among the guests. 11:30-12:30.
Activision: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 – This panel features everything you need to know about this years follow up to the wildly popular video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance. 11:30-12:30.
Hasbo: Marvel - They world-famous toy developer gives an in-depth look at their current and future products relating to Marvel properties. 12:30-1:30.
Sanctuary – The popular sci-fi program is featured on panel, giving more anticipation to the show’s second season. Creator Damian Kindler and star Amanda Tapping are among the guests. 12:30-1:30
DC Green Lantern: Blackest Night - DC’s big new event gets some panel time with writer Geoff Johns and others. 2:15-3:15.
Sony Pictures: Zombieland & 2012 – Two highly-anticipated films get the panel treatment. First up is apocalyptic zombie comedy Zombieland with panel guests Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and more. Then dive into 2012, Roland Emerich’s big budget disaster film. Emmerich himself will be on the panel. 2:45-3:45
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day – World-class jackass Troy Duffy will be on hand with Clifton Collins Jr., Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Redus and Billy Connelly to discuss the sequel to the cult-favorite film. The trailer for the flick will make its debut. I can’t believe this sequel actually got made. 3:30-4:30.
Paramount Pictures & Marvel: Iron Man 2 – You don’t want to miss this panel if the last Iron Man panel was any indication. 4-5.
Kevin Smith – An SDCC and geek staple, filmmaker, writer, actor and funnyman Kevin Smith brings his untouchable Q&A back to San Diego. 5:15-6:45.
Watchmen Director’s Cut Live w/ Zach Snyder - The hit of last years con returns. Director Zach Snyder will screen the Watchmen Director’s Cut in which blu-ray owners at home can link up to the show. Following the screening will be a panel discussion with Zach Snyder, Dave Gibbons and Jackie Earle Hayley. 8:30-12:15.
Day 4 – Sunday, July 26
Sunday is ‘Kids Day’ at the con, so expect a lot of youth-oriented content being the focus of the day. The only really great panel of not would be…
Smallville Screening and Q&A – This one is a comic-con staple! Join the cast of Smallville for a special episode screening followed by a panel discussion with Erica Durance, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley and Callum Blue. 10:30-11:30.
That wraps up our Countdown to Comic-Con: Program Guide. For a full list of panels and events at SDCC, check out the complete programming schedule over at www.comic-con.org.
As usual, GKS will provide running coverage of the show, and stay tuned for a look at some of the cool exclusive merchandise you can pick up at the show.
Welcome to another Box Office Beat, your weekly insight into the previous week’s new release performances.
Last Wednesday debuted what could be the last of the summer blockbusters for the year, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Regardless of the majority of critical response, including mine, being incredibly negative, Michael Bay’s follow up to his original box office beast made a ridiculous amount of money. The film opened a full day early with midnight screenings alone pulling in over $15 million, but that’s mere peanuts for what will most likely be the highest grossing film of the year,and quite possibly one of the highest grossing films of all time.
No other major releases entered the market this week except for My Sister’s Keeper. I don’t even know what the hell a My Sister’s Keeper is. Regardless, it performed terribly.
Here’s the top 5 and their respective intake:
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $108,966,307*
2. The Proposal – $18,578,541
3. The Hangover – $17,022,166
4. Up – $13,061,737
5. My Sister’s Keeper – $12,442,212
* note that because Transformers opened early, it’s grossing is well over $200,000,000 as of Monday, June 29.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately talking about the future of science fiction on tv. Last season, we lost some good shows in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Reaper, and it is beginning to feel like there simply isn’t a market for sci-fi on any of the major networks. We’ll likely always have the Sci-Fi (SyFy) channel, but without the success of sci-fi on a major network proving ad revenue can be generated from that genre, the quality of sci-fi programming will be stuck in neutral and we’ll have to accept whatever we can get. With that in mind, I encourage all fans of science fiction television to watch any and all sci-fi programming appearing on the major networks. Today, I’m offering a preview of Virtuality, a 2 hour tv movie on FOX that can make the translation to weekly series if the viewers choose to tune in this Friday. The concept sounds pretty cool, and I think it could be a decent series. Sure, it is on FOX, and that means it’s likely to get cancelled before it’s time, but we have to at least try. The movie airs this Friday on FOX at 8 pm ET/PT. IF you haven’t seen or heard anything about Virtuality, let me fill you in on the concept of the series:
Virtuality is about the crew of the spaceship ‘Phaeton’ who are approaching a vital stage of their epic 10-year journey through outer space. With the weight of the world on their shoulders and their lives being taped for a reality show back on Earth, the pressure is intense. To keep the crew members sane, there is a virtual reality technology device installed on the ship. With the help of that particular device, the crew members can be anyone they want, anywhere at any time, despite living in a closed environment in the lonely vastness of space. Complications arise when they realize there is a glitch in the system which inflicts damage on the psyche of the crew members and unleashes a virus on the ship. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (”New Amsterdam”), Sienna Guillory (”Love Actually”) and Clea Duvall (”Carnivale”) star among others. Peter Berg (”Friday Night Lights”) directed the pilot.
The show is said to be very dark and edgy, dealing with some very serious themes like addiction, the weight of larger-than-life responsibilities, our growing attachment to technology and the inner wish to live in a fantasy or alternative reality and how it influences the way you see things in real life. The two-hour-pilot/film asks some interesting questions about identity, reality and the power of imagination. I have to say that I’ve always felt that quality science fiction addresses some serious issues masked in a veil in the future settings they so often take place in. While the series would take place in the future, it seems to address the issues that are affecting people right now. There is potential here for this series to captivate not only sci-fi fanatics but also a broader audience that wouldn’t likely watch traditional science fiction.
Fans of the genre will recognize the name of the series creator, Ronald D. Moore, from his work on fan favorite Battlestar Galactica. He is widely recognized as a superior talent capable of producing deep and meaningful work without sacrificing the action, excitement and thrills that help make science fiction so great in the first place. His involvement in the making of the series pilot/film is surely enough to draw out some curious Battlestar fans, but Virtuality will need more than that if it is to make the translation to a weekly hour long dramatic series. The pilot hasn’t even aired, and yet it is already facing some serious problems from the network. FOX hasn’t been friendly to sci-fi, and apparently things have yet to change. The project has been in development for quite a while, and there was quite a bit of excitement about it, until Moore turned in the pilot movie to network brass. Here is what Moore had to say about his interactions with FOX officials upon handing in the completed pilot movie:
Moore: Well, [Fox entertainment president] Kevin Reilly’s first response was, “I love it, and if this was a movie, I’d put it straight to DVD right now and release it, and it’d do big business. It’s a great movie. But as a pilot, I’m not sure.” He wanted to tinker around with it a little bit, and we played with variations on it, until we all got to a version we were happy with, and that was the version that Kevin took up the line to the rest of the people at Fox. And ultimately I think the communal reaction was that they were impressed by the production value of the show, they were challenged by the story material, and they just didn’t know if it was going to work on the Fox network or not. They haven’t officially said, “That’s it. It’s over.” You never know how these things turn out, but at the moment I think Fox’s attitude is probably wait and see.
Damn you FOX, damn you. Why do you hate science fiction so much? They have a history with the genre. The fan favorite series Firefly was well received by critics, and yet it was prematurely cancelled. Terminator fans were pissed that T: SCC was cancelled. Now, a great concept created by one of the brightest creative minds in science fiction is being prematurely judged. Damn you FOX. They’ve made it clear that Virtuality is a strong concept with great potential as a weekly series, and it could be an enthralling and challenging series for sci-fi fans and anyone else for that matter. But it’s not good enough to get the green light? And the pilot is shoved into the tv hell-hole that is the dreaded Friday night time slot?
For all you Battlestar fans, I’m sure you all feel grateful for what Ronald D. Moore worked so hard to give you. It’s time to repay him by tuning in to Virtuality this Friday evening at 8 pm ET/PT. Everyone else, I beg of you to please tune in and help to give it a chance to become the weekly series Moore wants it to pay. As a reward for everyone choosing to tune in, you may just be rewarded with one of the most interesting new series’ in recent memory.
I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Stargate in all it’s various incarnations over different mediums. From the first time watching the movie that launched a sci-fi phenomenon, Stargate, I was hooked on the possibilities of the concept and what it could mean for comic books, television, and movies. Stargate hasn’t exactly been a successful franchise, at least monetarily, and it’s struggled to captivate a mainstream audience. The franchise didn’t take off on the big screen, but there have been direct-to-dvd releases and a successful television series’ based on the franchise. No matter what middle America thinks of the franchise, sci-fi fans have proved loyal, and have been rewarded with a lengthy television run for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis along with a not so successful cartoon series, Stargate Infinity. The last episode of Atlantis aired in January of 09, and I have been itching for some fresh Stargate action ever since. Fortunately for me, and for sci-fi fans in general, Stargate will be returning to television soon. In case you don’t know, Stargate Universe will captivate audiences starting in October on the Sci-Fi (SyFy) channel with a 2 or 3 hour premier film to be followed by regular hour long episodes each week. The series will bring a unique new idea to the franchise and attempt to explore an idea that has not been touched on very frequently in the other iterations of the franchise, to give SGU a fresh feel. I just can’t wait any longer. Perhaps telling you everything I know about the series will help me deal with my Stargate withdrawals. The series is being written by Stargate Atlantis co-creators Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. Check out what Brad Wright had to say about the new series:
“The idea of Stargate Universe is that it is set on a ship that was part of an Ancient experiment that was set in motion probably millions of years ago — one that they never saw to fruition, but that we can… They got busy with the whole ascension thing.” The experiment is “to send a ship across the universe, and to send one ahead of it to seed the galaxies with Stargates, and that they would one day use the ninth chevron to get there [to the ship]. And that’s what Stargate Universe is.”
I think this is a pretty intriguing concept. It’s pretty clear that there are many different ways they can go with the show. As much as I loved SG-1 and Atlantis, they began to get a little stale towards the end of their television runs. If this show ends up just being a retread of previous Stargate concepts and plot devices then it will end up being a massive disappointment. I’m not exactly sure what to expect from the show in terms of plot lines, but I do know that the show promises to be darker, grittier and sexier? That’s right, sexier. Think space lesbians. In case you missed that, that was SPACE LESBIANS!!! In case you don’t believe me, check out this brief post and interview clip about SGU from our friends over at SciFiCool.com. Great stuff.
The show boasts a very intriguing cast, including Robert Carlyle, Justin Lewis, David Blue, and Ming-Na. The series also lists Lou Diamond Phillips on the official press release and he appears in the cast photos, but it is as yet unlcear whether he would be a full time cast member or just a part time recurring character. With or without him, fans will get to watch a varied cast of talented actors with plenty of range. I’m particularly looking forward to watching Robert Carlyle as the shows lead. He has a knack for dramatic acting, and his casting adds a bit of credibility to a fledgling series. In various interviews with Carlyle, he mentioned that he was intrigued by the possibilities of drama in space, which gives us a little idea as to what we can expect from the tone of the new series. Lou Diamond Phillips, were he to join the cast in a more permanent role, would also add some credibility and dramatic ability. For the comic relief, look no farther than David Blue, who’s character is a “total slacker” in his early twenties and an “utter genius” in mathematics, computers and other fields. He is a social outcast with an “acerbic sense of humor”, and lacks confidence in his intelligence. The character breakdown compares him to “Matt Damon’s character from Good Will Hunting with a little Jack Black thrown in”. He is expected to be the comic relief of the show. Sounds pretty funny to me.
I know that there is an extreme dearth of fresh ideas in Hollywood that is seeping into our living rooms on television sets. Spin-off series’ from a successful series are all too common. CSI was spun off into CSI New York and CSI Miami, Law & Order was spun off into Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: CI and Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Law & Order: Crime and Punishment, and surprisingly enough, I could list more Law & Order Spin offs. Sad, huh? I’m just as sick of it as I’m sure you all are. But I’m looking forward to Stargate Universe, not because I am a fan of the franchise, but because SGU promises to do what most of the other spin-offs fail to do; explore subject matter that is far enough away from the original to feellike something completely new. Sure, it could end up being nothing more than SG-1 with a fresh coat of paint. But at least right now, it doesn’t look that way. I’ll be keeping my eye on this, and refuse to judge the show until I see it. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who will be looking forward to this with cautious optimism. Now that Atlantis is over, there are plenty of Stargate fans looking for a new show to love.
Remember: Stargate Universe is coming to the Sci-Fi (SyFy) channel in October. Stay tuned, as I’ll be happy to keep you updated on any and all SGU news, right here on GKS!
For the week of June 14 – 20: Prototype, Ghostbusters and Nintendo’s plan to ruin a generation of children.
RELEASES:
Last week PS3 owners were treated to the fantastic inFAMOUS, the open world, super powers, morality choice with great game play game from Sucker Punch. This week however, we see the release of the multi-platform game Prototype from the team that put together last generations smashy The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. The reason I’m mentioning them both here is because we caught first wind of them at E3 2008, and they drew very similar parallels when first reveled. Now that the teams have had another year to work on them, they’ve been released and people have played and passed judgement on them.
Generaly what’s been said about Prototype is that it’s very close to the gameplay of Radical Entertainment’s previous game The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction but brought up to take advantage of current hardware and added more story and badditude to the game. While people have been having fun with it, they’ve taken issue with the developer throwing in everything they could think. Instead they should have taken a step back and widdled the list down and combined/refined their ideas into something that has a little more impact.
Your character wakes up to find he has morphing powers, doesn’t know who did it to him and runs through them game punishing those who deserve it most. An ok premise and a game worth checking out, but if you have a PS3, I would recommend you pick up inFAMOUS to scratch that ’destroy open worlds with super powers’ itch instead.
Another release readers of the site should get excited about is Ghostbusters The Video Game. Typically licensed games aren’t even worth mentioning but in this case you might want to take a closer look.
Like it or not, this game is being referred to as Ghostbusters 3. The original cast is back for voice overs minus Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver, the game’s script got a pass over from Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis and it’s not a bad game to boot.
But it’s not the game play fans will be looking for, it’s the story and I’m happy to report, the game’s worth checking out because of it. The main game play isn’t broken or bad by any means, but the big draw will be because you’re a fan of the movies and you get to hang out with the Ghostbusters.
The guys from this weeks Totally Rad Show had a great discussion of the game and have convinced me that it’s well worth checking out. Not so sure if I’m convinced a video game is the way I want to see a new chapter in the Ghostbuster universe, but I’ll takes what I can get’s.
Nintendo DSi Ware this week is another calculator and another clock, but this time they’re Mario themed! Seriously, the potential for DSi Ware is astronomical with the catalogue of games Nintendo is sitting on, let alone new properties they could be pushing out to take advantage of the new hardware, but instead they keep putting out this garbage. Here’s reason #57 why I’m glad I didn’t buy a DSi.
NEWS:
The big story of the week is Nintendo’s recent announcement of a patient for what they call “demo play” (tentative name) that will first be implemented in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. If you haven’t already figured it out from the name, demo play won’t be the ability to download and play demos on your Wii like you hoped for. No, it will be a button you push when you’re too big of a pussy to get past a hard part in a game that allows the CPU to take over and do it for you while you sit there and watch.
Challenging yourself to get past these seemingly impossible areas of the game are what make the experience satisfying. I would even go as far to say they are character building, but with the new ‘Nintendo Easy Button’ players can say ‘Fuck it, I don’t have the patience or the will to try after even the smallest negative feedback from a game.’ I’m the way I am today, because Mega Man 2 was my abusive parent and made me a man and I loved the game for it. It separated the men from the boys.
And since later levels of a game require you to have built up the skills and understanding enough to get through them, won’t using the Demo Play button too much produce players not prepared enough to take them on? The rewards for seeing the later half of the game are based on the dues you’ve paid to get there.
Forget 3D movies ruining the new generation, it’s Nintendo’s Demo Play you should be really worried about.
I’m out.
Dale can also be found over at www.8bitcyclops.com, looking at design, photography and old video game magazines.
He is a Hell-born demon who exists to train new soldiers in Hell’s army. His powers and abilities put him near the top of the list of most powerful villains of all time. Oh, and he’s a real bastard. If only being a jerk was considered a super power… IGN recently compiled a list of the top 100 villains of all time, and he was listed as the #97 villain. This week’s Hero/Villain of the week, from the pages of Image Comics, is the vile, disgusting, and pure evil demon, The Violator!
Real Name: Unknown Alias: Violator, The Clown
Status: Villain Occupation: Violator lives to serve Malebolgia and cultivate souls on Earth for future enlistments in Hell’s army. He also serves as a guide to all new Hellspawns.
Height: 3′ 10″ (as the Clown) The Violator’s height is known to flucuate
Weight: Unknown.
Unique Abilities: The Violator is a demon from Hell, and as such he has all the powers of a powerful entity from Hell. Violator is a superhumanly strong and resilient demon who has various supernatural powers including, shape/size shifting, healing, telepathy, possession of others, the ability to breathe fire, teleportation, and necromancy. The true extent of his powers are unknown, but it’s been made clear that the Violator can easily obliterate a Hellspawn, though he is not allowed to kill one without a director order from Malebolgia.
Career Highlights: Violator appeared in the second issue of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, and he has been squaring off against Spawn ever since. Violator frequently assumes the form of Clown, a short and obese human body with blue face paint. The Clown is the alter ego and disguise of the Violator, he uses this form so that he may walk among human beings. Whenever Violator possesses a body they also show this trademark face paint. Battles with Al Simmons, the first Spawn to appear in the comics, have been epic and brutal, and they have been particularly humiliating for Violator. In one particular battle, when Spawn returned to Hell to claim the throne of the 8th circle, Violator appeared to stop him and was promptly dispatched in a humiliating fashion. It was assumed that he had died, but the Violator has died many times, each time resurfacing in Hell or on Earth to torment Hellspawns and all those important to them. Sometimes battle with the Violator is as much physical as it is mental – as the Clown, he takes great pride in working “behind the scenes” to wreak havok in Spawn’s life by twisting those he has trusted and cared for against him.
In one particularly interesting plot line, Spawn was blamed for the murders of the city’s mafia members, and the Violator had to come to Spawn’s aid. After finding out Spawn had been blamed for the murders of the city’s mafia leaders he decide to show them the truth but without his demon form he knew it would be impossible so he made a deal with Spawn to borrow some of his power and bring it back after he got what he needed. Once he began murdering mafia members Tony Twist retaliated and sent out hitmen, however Violator had the aid of an ex-soldier with a grudge against the Mafia. The whole time however his brothers grew angry and embarrassed with Violator’s actions and decided to put a stop to him, after Violator had attacked the mafia his brothers found and fought him only to have him reveal that thanks to Spawn he regained his ability to change back to his demon form and defeated his brothers then betrayed his help and killed him escaping into the night as the mafia lost track of him, returning only to give Spawn back his power…. and to plan his revenge.
As the Clown, he has attacked Spawns closest allies and confidants, the homeless whom have taken refuge in Rat City, marking them all with his trademark blue face paint. He possessed hundreds of civilians and caused them to act as criminals, running amok and wreaking havoc on the city and committing random acts of violence. The attacks left Spawn laying beaten, broken and bleeding in his Al Simmons personae, and right when Spawn was at his weakest, the Violator just disappeared. This is indicative of the pure insanity of the Violator – his actions can be seemingly random yet always have a purpose, and you never know what his true plans are until it is too late. More recently, in Spawn #167, a new clown emerges, who is thin and agile, and fond of using knives. He hijacked a new body, and went right back to work cultivating evil on Earth and preparing souls for enlistment in Hell’s army. He still has the ability to change into his demon form when he wishes.
The Violator is revealed to be the cause of all the havoc of an apartment complex, freeing the residents of restraint and allowing them to fulfill their desires and violent urges. This allowed the Violator to create a portal to Hell from which the other Phlebiac Brothers (demons from Hell who could be considered Violator’s demon brothers) could enter the world. Violator is confronted by Spawn, but easily gains the upper hand in the battle. Mere moments from Violator’s victory, the spirit of the man whose body Clown is possessing gains control when his body sees his former lover. The man decides to go through the portal into hell, knowing that the only way to close the portal was to trap himself and Clown on the other side while he could still maintain control over his body. His plan trapped the Violator in Hell once more, seemingly with no means of escape.
Clown later reappeared on Earth, only to be shocked at finding the decapitated body of his nemesis Spawn lying in an Alley. He see’s this as an opportunity to assume command of an army of Hellspawns to lead the attack against Heaven by killing everyone who knew about Spawn’s demise and assuming the identity of Spawn, against the orders of the Elders (powerful demons who seem to be “in charge” in Hell). Yet he couldn’t do it alone, and proceeded to track down a demon living amongst humans in a human body, and attempts to enlist his assistance. When the demon refuses, the wicked sense of humor of the Clown is displayed perfectly when he leaves a “surprise” for the demon. You see, Clown is not going to accept no for an answer. Clown gives the man two days to get his affairs in order before departing. The man, still defiant, looks in his desk drawer to find the severed heads of his prize winning dogs and a note from the Clown reading, “I’m not Clowning around!” Classic!
While the Clown proves to be the slightly more devious and humorous side of the demonic entity, the brutal hatred of the Violator is frequently made clear. Consider his interrogation of a fallen Angel who had information he wanted. He found an Angel crucified to a wall(thanks to the newly ordained HellSpawn). He didn’t know about the new Spawn, and asked the Angel who pinned her to the wall, as he beats her with a crowbar. She laughs at his lack of knowledge about “What your side is doing, Mr. Clown,” which angers Clown. He gives her a reason to fear him as he contorts his Clown face into that of the Violator. She says she is unafraid, to which he replies, “There are worse things than death, especially for an Angel,” he then tears the wings from the helpless Angel’s back. Wicked.
Key media appearances: The Violator is such a popular villain in the world of comics that he is starting to seep into pop-culture. He was the subject of the song “Violate” by heavy metal band Iced Earth, from their Spawn-themed concept album The Dark Saga. It’s a pretty kick ass song if you are into that style of music, and if it was possible to give a comic character a theme song, that would be exactly what Violator’s song would be. The character has also appeared in nearly every Spawn video created over the years, starting with the very first Spawn game for the Super Nintendo . He has also appeared in the HBO Spawn miniseries, and the character was spoofed on Seth Green’s Robot Chicken. In the world of film, the Violator appeared as the main villain in the one and only Spawn movie made to date. The quintessential Violator outside of the comics remains the one from HBO’s miniseries. Check out this little video featuring the Clown/Violator. Warning: This clip contains foul language and plenty of blood!
Aside from the main Spawn comic series’, he appeared in the Japanese Manga Shadows of Spawn. But if you really want to get the Violator experience, you need look no farther than Spawn’s long running series. He has appeared in 63 issues, so there is a wide variety of titles to choose from. You should, however, start from the beginning in issue #2. He also made a pretty cool appearance in the Hell Spawn series and 1995’s 4 issue series Blood Feud, written by the legendary Alan Moore. Definitely something to check out, as is the case with all of Moore’s work. The Clown even got his own solo series, albeit a short one (pun intended), for 3 issues in the Violator: The World series.
Recap: The Violator appeared on IGN’svillain list for a reason. Whether he appears as the Clown or in his true demonic form, he is a villain that you cannot take lightly. His cunning and patience allow him to attack Spawn and the world with complex and convoluted schemes that take plenty of time and preparationto enact. His sheer strengthand his demonic abilities make him a force to be reckoned within any physical confrontation. Consider the fact that most villains have one thing; most villains have either the superior intelligence and cunning, or the overpowering strengthand physical abilities. So few villains can attack their foes withboth. For the comic readers among us, the multi-dimensional Violator provides high quality entertainment in a variety of different fashions. The foul mouthed Clown can provide the laughs from his crude jokes and harassment of Spawn, along with his intellect providing the surprises and drama that any good multi-issue plan of attack can. As the Violator, fans are treated to plenty of “wow factor.” His demonic form is wicked cool, and seeing him in action as a demon is nothing short of intense. My favorite Spawn comics are the ones that prominently feature the character. Violator is one of the coolest looking villains too. All of these things considered, it’s likely that this Spawn villain will be making some sort of appearance in the Spawn film that creator Todd McFarlane is currently working on.
He is considered Hank Pym’s greatest creation. The heroic scientist certainly didn’t intend for his foray into artificial intelligence to result in an unstable sentient robot that hates his “father” and the rest of humanity. Pym used a copy of his brain to endow consciousness to a crudely built robot, passing Pym’s uber-intelligence on to his creation. But a keen intellect was not all that the robot received from Pym; he also received Pym’s mental instability. After gaining sentience and realizing a pure hatred for the human race, Pym’s creation brainwashed him and convinced Pym to abandon the lab where he worked. The robot was intent on improving upon it’s crude form, and after he created four new “bodies” for itself, he was born – the villain known as Ultron!
Real name: Ultron Alias: Crimson Cowl, Great Devil, Great Ultron, Iron Man, Mark, Omega, Ultimate Ultron, Ultron-5 (and hundreds of other sequential numerical designations), Ultron Mark Twelve, Ho Yinsen Status: Villain
Occupation: Full-Time Villain, would-be world conqueror, scientist, mass murderer, and ruler of Phalanx
Height: 6′9″ (known to fluctuate) Weight: 535 lbs (known to fluctuate)
Unique Abilities: Ultron’s abilities vary with each redesign, but typically include superhuman strength and durability, the power of flight, and various offensive weapons such as concussion blasters, radiation emitters and his “encephalo-ray”, which plunges its victims into a deathlike coma. The latter ray also allows Ultron to mesmerize and outright mind-control his victims, or implant subliminal hypnotic commands within their minds to be enacted at a later time. Ultron’s outer shell is usually composed of Adamantium, rendering it almost totally impervious to damage; however, his internal mechanisms are generally less durable and more easily damaged. Ultron’s Adamantium forms have proven vulnerable to molecular rearrangement devices and the metal-destabilizing ore known as Savage Land Vibranium (”anti-metal”). Some Ultron models feature tractor beams and energy absorption capabilities. Most Ultrons are powered by a small internal nuclear furnace, and incorporate a “program transmitter” which can beam part or all of Ultron’s programming into remote locations such as computers or alternate robotic bodies. Ultron can often control other machines remotely even if he has not transplanted his consciousness into them. One recent Ultron model developed hive-mind technology, allowing him to animate and control hundreds of alternate Ultron bodies at the same time, becoming a robotic one-man army. Ultron is one of the foremost robotics experts on Earth.
Career Highlights: Ultron is one of the most cunning and vile villains in the Marvel Universe, and his track record certainly backs that up. In the 70’s, Ultron crashed the wedding between the Inhuman Crystal and the Avenger Quicksilver, where he battle the Avengers, the Inhumans, and the Fantastic Four before being defeated. He appeared on Battleworld (as Ultron v11) to battle the Thing during the Secret wars. Grimm brought his head home as a souvenir, which proved to be a mistake, as he drops and loses the head in battle. When Ultron returned, it was assumed that Ultron 11 somehow came back, by it was proven to be a new Ultron model, Ultron 12 – a model that was different from the others in that Ultron 12 tried to form an actual relationship with his “father” Hank Pym. When Ultron 11 did return gunning for Hank Pym and Wonderman, Ultron 12 came to their assistance, and the three defeated Ultron 11. Ultron 12 told Pym he was happy to help save his “Father’s” life, then promptly deactivated himself. In the 90’s, Ultron 17 teamed with Alkemha in an effort to create a volcanic winter by placing bombs at the base of several volcanoes. One particularly memorable act of villainy is when Ultron 19 slaughtered the population of the fictional state Slorernia. Over the years, Ultron has stopped at nothing to destroy the human race and it’s heroic protectors, often impersonating various heroes or villains. His ultimate goal is clear, and coupled with his ability to continually return “from the dead” in a newer and more deadly form, Ultron should be considered one of Marvel Universe’s biggest threats.
Key media appearances: Ultron first appeared in Avengers #54 in 1968, and has been a thorn in the side of the heroes of the Marvel Universe ever since. Some of his key comic appearances include: Avengers #161-162 as Ultron-8 (where it is responsible for the creation of Jocasta whom it wishes to take as a robotic bride), Daredevil # 275-276 (where as a pawn of Doctor Doom, it attacks Daredevil before a programming conflict deactivates the robot), Avengers#19 (where he slaughters the population of the fictional state Slorernia before once again being defeated by the Avengers in Avengers 22), Iron Manvol. 3, #46 – 48 (an Ultron formed from an old version of Iron Man’s armor, who leads the cult the Sons of Yinsen in an attempt to conquest via religion. The character is defeated by Iron Man and Jocasta), Mighty Avengers issues #1-6 (Ultron interfaces with Iron Man’s armor, which Iron Man had integrated with his biology. This allows Ultron’s program to transform Iron Man into a new version of Ultron that has the human appearance of the Wasp, albeit with a metallic skin. This version is eventually destroyed by new Avenger Ares, who uses a computer virus to wipe Ultron’s program from Iron Man’s armor. Ultron’s image later briefly appears on one of Pym’s computers) and in the Annihilation: Conquestcrossover where one version of Ultron leads the alien race the Phalanx, who view Ultron as the sympathetic father they have yearned for.[31] Together, they invade Kree space. Taking control of the body of Adam Warlock, Ultron hopes to achieve “true techno-organic perfection”, but is eventually forced to abandon Warlock’s body by the Technarchy Warlock. It is destroyed in combat by Wraith and Quasar.
Ultron would totally kick Metallo's metal ass!
In other media, Ultron appeared as a villain in the animated series The Avengers: United They Stand, and the character was done quite well. His only film appearance (so far) is in the Marvel animated DVD release, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The character is depicted as a major presence that dominates a world where the heroes we know have all either died or gone into hiding. A great appearance and a great overall movie, that comes with my highest recommendation! While Ultron hasn’t appeared much outside of the comics, the impending release of an Ant-Man film and a film for the Avengers, it appears likely that we will be seeing much more of this robotic menace on the big screen sometime in the next 5 years.
Recap: Ultron is a constant presence in the Marvel Universe. He is a villain that boasts a deadly combination of wicked keen intellect and raw robotic power, making him one of the deadliest villains to ever square off against the Avengers. The tragic story behind his villainy – including his origins and hatred of his “father” Hank Pym, add a whole new level to the character, taking him from run of the mill evil robot to true Super-Villain status. Ultron uses his abilities to control all sorts of machines, including the ones he created himself andheroic machines like the Iron Man suit, to play mind games with the foes he faces. This always leads to intrigue and mystery in all of his comic appearances. Ultron is one of the most intriguing Marvel U villains, and it is his time to shine. What a great way to introduce all you Ultron nubes to a villain I’m certain you’ll be seeing on the big screen very soon.
We’re still nine months away from the release of Iron Man 2, so you know what that means: marketing time. What better way to get fans crazier than they already are than with some good ol’ fashioned viral marketing. Marketing strategy has always been a creative venture when it comes to Hollywood, and what was perfected (and arguably originated, in terms of film promotion) with The Dark Knight now lends itself to Iron Man. So here’s what we’ve got going.
Hard to believe another year has passed, but once again the musky scent of fanboys and girls is in the air which can only mean one thing: It’s Comic-Con time.
