Goodbye Amy & Rory. The married companions left Doctor Who in The Angels Take Manhattan. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will be missed. All the previous episodes of this season have been hinting and building to the moment but it was still a bittersweet shock.
This episode was Steven Moffat at the top of his game – twisted, creepy, chilling, moving and uncompromising – we all knew it wasn’t going to be all sewn up with a completely happy ending. Matt Smith and Alex Kingston were perfection. Thank you Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill for giving us Amy and Rory.
Tonight the new season of REVENGE begins on ABC so I thought it was a perfect time to revisit this crazy idea I had:
They’re rich, powerful, blonde, manipulative and can deliver razor-sharp one liners like Hand assassin throwing daggers.
Emma Frost is the reformed White Queen of the Hellfire Club and now co-leader of the X-Men.
Nolan Ross (played by Gabriel Mann) is the witty, scheming, brilliant high-tech billionaire with too much time, money and tech on the hit ABC show Revenge.
If ever too characters from similar worlds but different mediums should cross over it’s these two. As I watch Revenge I can’t help but think if Emma had a long-lost twin it might be Nolan. I could even picture Conrad Grayson sipping cocktails in the old school Hellfire Club – an exclusive cabal of ultra rich power brokers who have clashed with the X-Men.
This is what happens when a geek has too much time his hands – spinning two of my favorite vices into a twisted idea. Disney does own both companies behind these properties and I can see Frost on holiday in the Hamptons crossing paths with Ross, Emily Thorne – and can you imagine Emma taking out Victoria Grayson!
After all – most comic books are soaps in spandex – so why not let the characters fo Revenge feel a touch of Frost.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #5 courtesy IDW Publishing
Warning: This review contains spoilers!
The unholy alliance of the Borg and Cybermen has shattered. The Federation’s greatest enemies are asking the Enterprise for help?
Can Doctor Who convince Captain Jean-Luc Picard to make the right decision that will save the Federation and entires universes?
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who Assimilation 2 #5 is a break in the action of the crossover but still every bit as enjoyable of previous chapters. You could call this a “show my yours and I’ll show you mine” chapter.
Guinan convinces Captain Picard to reveal his experience with the Borg taking us back to the classic “Best of Both Worlds” episodes giving the Time Lord context of why Picard refuses to aid the Borg. The Doctor presses on trying to convince the Captain of the greater evil.
The Doctor fails. It’s up to Amy Pond and it’s a great moment that you could just picture Karen Gillan saying on television. Soon Captain Picard is saying the classic line “it’s bigger on the inside. How it this possible?”
A trip in the Tardis shows Picard the future of the Federation and leads to a course correction.
I commend the writers for capturing the essences of each character from each franchise. Rory, Deanna Troi and Dr. Crusher share moments that make this crossover work. The Borg and Cybermen are battling each other. This issue was a battle of wills between Captain Picard and Doctor Who. The stage is set for an incredible alien encounter for the Doctor and an epic battle with universes at stake.
The new season of The Walking Dead introduces many of the most fan favorite characters and plots from the comic book series. Danai Gurira joins the cast Michonne. Gurira and the crew reveal how she learned how to use a katana sword to play the zombie killing swordmaster in this new video from AMC.
Astonishing X-Men #54 Susan Hatchi reveals her mutant connection. The new villainess has already blown up Wolverine and the rest of the team is infected with her nanobombs in their blood. Can former New Mutant Karma escaped Hatchi’s control to save her team.
Batman Incorporated #0You need an international army to fight a global terror network like Leviathan. See how Bruce Wayne recruited his worldwide team of crimefighters in this origin issue.
Happy #1 A hit man’s world of murder, sex and corruption – not your usual Christmas tale. Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson team up for this new Image mini-series of an unjured assassin on the run from the cops, the mob and connected to a killer Santa.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 # 5 Captain Picard is faced with an impossible choice that could save or damn the universe. Only Doctor Who may be able to convince the Captain to team up with his greatest enemies.
Talon #0A new hero in a new series spinning out of the Batman: Court of Owls epic! Calvin Rose is the only man to escape the Court of Owls. Can this former assassin live a normal life and become a hero? The Court is back and they’re after their prize killer.
Marvel’s Avengers The Hulk courtesy Marvel Studios
“HULK SMASH BOX OFFICE IN OWN MOVIE! NO NEED AVENGERS!” Imagine that in a loud bellow from a green giant!
After two solo movies the Hulk got cinematic justice and stole the show in Marvel’s The Avengers. MTV pressed Marvel Films honcho Kevin Feige about Hulk carrying his own movie again and specifically a potential movie based on Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk.
“‘Planet Hulk‘ is a cool story,” Feige responded and adds. “‘World War Hulk‘ is a cool story.” (This geek screams!)
“Do I think Hulk can carry a movie and be as entertaining as he was in ‘Avengers‘? I do believe that. I do believe he absolutely could. We certainly are not even going to attempt that until ‘Avengers 2,'” said Feige. “So there’s a lot of time to think about it.”
“Part of what’s fun about the way we played him in ‘Avengers‘ is the ensemble quality of it,” he continued of why Hulk resonated with so many fans this summer. “I think the pathos and humor, most importantly, that Mark and Joss brought to it showcased a different element of Hulk that’s there in the comics, and was always inherent in his character. But when he was so brooding in his other two films, he didn’t get to have that wry sense of humor that Mark did such an amazing job performing.”
Planet Hulk image courtesy Marvel.com
In Planet Hulk– Iron Man and Reed Richards are among the heroes who banish Hulk into space on an uninhabited rock but the Jade Giant lands on a world in which he becomes a Gladiator type hero. In World War Hulk– the goliath returns to Earth to exact vengeance on the heroes who banished him.
Mark Ruffalo reportedly has a 6 picture deal with Marvel and that inspired this geek’s dreams of a Hulk solo movie based on several storylines including Planet Hulk.
After the Hulk’s performance in The Avengers do you want to see a Hulk solo movie?
Artist Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead) and Writer/Artist Tony Daniel (Batman, Detective Comics) will appear at the 2013 Emerald City Comicon. This will be Daniel’s first appearance at the Seattle event. I had the pleasure of interviewing Daniel at Fan Expo Vancouver earlier this year.
Uncanny Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
Adi Granov returns to Emerald City Comicon. The Iron Man movie concept artist and co-creator of Iron Man Extremis provided the cover for the Monsters & Dames charity book this year. I’m thrilled to see what Granov will create for next year. I have to get this Uncanny Avengers Granov variant for him to sign! Fingers crossed.
Natalia Tena (Harry Potter films, Game of Thrones) is the latest celebrity guest (Patrick Stewart, Billy Dee Williams, Walter Koenig) to join the 2013 ECCC lineup.
Avengers #30 Love in war. AvX may be an epic with huge battles and ramifications but it’s also about heart and relationships. This tie-in focuses on the romance of Hawkeye and Spider-Woman. Can two emotionally damaged heroes like Clint and Jessica make it work in the damaged world shaken by the Phoenix.
Nightwing #0 The New 52 origin of Dick Grayson revealed. From orphan to sidekick to his own superhero identity.
Spider-Men #5How will Peter Parker return to his own world? How will it end between Peter and Miles Morales? The story that brought together Spider-Men of two worlds comes to a shocking end.
True Blood #5The secret history of the villain that terrified Bon Temps and his connection to Eric Northman’s maker – Godric.
Thanos: The Final Threat #1 He’s the cosmic villain behind the war in Marvel’s The Avengers movie and Avengers Assemble series. Experience Thanos at his evil best in this masterpiece by Jim Starlin. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must stop Thanos from using the Infinity Gems to seize power and satisfy his mistress, Death. This includes the classic Avengers Annual #7 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2.
