The creative minds at Marvel Comics may be orchestrating the greatest “What If?” story of all time? Is Marvel time twisting their comic book universe into a reboot of the entire line? When Marvel Now was announced fans speculated a major reboot was coming. Brian Michael Bendis teased that the finale of Age of Ultron is “unguessable.”
Could decades of history and continuity be burned away for a whole new beginning?
Kang in Young Avengers #4 courtesy Marvel
Let’s take a look at what’s happening and coming:
Kang The time traveling manipulator is the mastermind of Rick Remender’s latest Uncanny Avengers arc. Kang has seized the Apocalypse Twins and manipulate an 11th century battle between Apocalypse and Thor. Odin warned that the arrogant young Thunder God’s victory will have a price.
All-New X-MenBeast went back in time to bring the original five X-Men into the present. The best laid plan backfired and was powerfully written by Brian Michael Bendis. Young Jean Grey’s telepathic powers triggered earlier than it had in real Marvel history and she doesn’t have Professor Xavier to train her. Jean has assumed control of the teen X-Men and declared they will stay in the present – their future.
As I read Cable and X-Force #7 I had a thought about one of my favorite X-Men. Dennis Hopeless packs this issue with action, tense interactions and hilarious lines.
As bad girl Domino is breaking Colossus out of prison she tells him,”Look, I’m a big fan of yours. What can I say, big, burly and all sorts of broken. I’ve got a type.”
A sentiment shared by many girl and some guys for big emo lugs like Peter Rasputin.
The innocent Russian farm boy has had a universe of heartbreak and emotional torture over the years with deaths, resurrections, breakups and possessions.
Robert Downey Jr. kicks off the Summer movie season in Iron Man 3. The Armored Avenger finally faces the classic comic book foe – the Mandarin (played by Oscar winner Ben Kingsley) in the Shane Black helmed sequel.
In May’s GQ Downey talks about the time when he may give up the armor:
“This period of time, this shall pass,” he says. “Fortunately I’ve been around the block enough—I’m not ill-prepared. And I love change. I love it when a lightning bolt hits the genny and you’re down for two hours on the set. Now, this isn’t a lightning strike, this is like the warning of a gathering storm.”
The actor talks about an accident on the set of Iron Man 3 that shut down production for weeks.
“It got me thinking about how big the message from your cosmic sponsor needs to be before you pick it up. How many genre movies can I do? How many follow-ups to a successful follow-up are actually fun? Because, as quiet as it’s kept, I come from a family of very innovative writers and directors and actors and artists, and the circle of friends they were in were the people I heard having pun-offs playing poker at two in the morning, and it was just the most comforting aspect of my childhood. So there’s this kind of legacy of souls from what I consider to be a very particular time in entertainment, and I’m sensing a return to that—it’s what me and the missus are doing next. It’s not unlike: I heard Brady signed on for three more years with New England, and then he’s done being a QB, because he’ll be 40. I’m 47, and I’ll be 50.”
courtesy Yahoo Movies
Downey is not contracted to play Tony Stark again. When asked what if Marvel made him an offer for Avengers 2, Iron Man 4, Iron Man 5?
“Here’s the thing. At whatever point I’m done with this, I’m going to have a bit of a crisis, because I probably haven’t even fully ingested how much I’ve enjoyed it, how much it’s meant. It so came out of kind of relative obscurity as this second-tier character from the Marvel universe, and I feel I was part of making it something more. But it also to me was just good filmmaking. It’s funny, people will come up to me and go, ‘Dude, how do you do it? How do you dress up and play these…?’ While whatsisname is shooting the next David O. Russell or whatever, I’m, ‘Here’s the thing, you’re either having a good time or a bad time, and you’re either doing a good movie or a bad movie.’ And I know one thing, which is that there is no guarantee that doing a movie you think is ‘important’ “—Downey enunciates the word important in a wonderfully withering way—”isn’t going to be the worst piece of tripe I’ve ever had to sit through. Or that this kind of two-dimensional genre movie I’m doing isn’t actually going to be thoroughly entertaining. Isn’t that why you went to the movies to begin with? Whatever.”
For now we can cheer for Downey as Tony Stark in Iron Man 3!
For more of the story here’s a link to GQ and pick up May issue on April 28th.
Games of Thrones has three dragons but Seattle’s EMP Museum has welcomed its own magnificent dragon! The scaly resident is part of the collection of music, pop culture and fantasy but needs a name. This giant animatronic dragon is one of the main attractions featured in EMP’s upcoming exhibition Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic opening on April 27, 2013.
EMP is asking the public to share their name ideas for the dragon by going to EMP’s Facebook page . Submissions will be accepted through 11:59pm on Sunday, April 21, 2013. The top names will then be presented to the public to cast a vote for their favorite.
Built by Seattle Opera Scenic Studios, the dragon will spend most of its time guarding the gallery in a state of slumber, but will interact with visitors by purring softly when its tail is gently stroked and will snap its eyes open and let out a loud roar when it feels threatened.
The dragon is made out of wood, steel, aluminum, various types of both rigid and flexible foams, fabrics, upholstery materials, synthetic skin, and two glass eyes.
courtesy EMP Museum
The dragon’s head is approximately six feet long. If it were to open its jaws, it would have a “bite” just a bit bigger than a Great White Shark.
The dragon’s claw has a grasp of 18”, its tail is about the length of an adult saltwater crocodile, and if it were to open its wings, they would stretch to more than 36 feet; slightly more than the wingspan of a Cessna airplane.
Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic is the first exhibition of its kind to examine the proliferation of the fantasy genre in literature, film, television, and video games. From classic folklore to epic tales of good and evil, the exhibition content spans more than four centuries and includes an authentic 16th century suit of armor, rare costumes from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and original hand-edited manuscript pages Continue reading Name That Dragon!
Like the Millennium Falcon speeding through an asteroid field – Harrison Ford dodged Star Wars sequel questions from “devoted” fans in the audience at Jimmy Kimmel Live. Ford was promoting his new film 42 the Jackie Robinson story but Jimmy’s plan to stage a Star Wars reunion backfired and Ford left the set.
Take a look:
You can watch more of Ford on Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube. The Force wasn’t with Jimmy on this mission to get scoop from Ford but we enjoyed a hilarious moment!
The legendary Dame Diana Rigg, Neil Gaiman and the return of the Cybermen are among the reasons to cheer for upcoming episodes of Doctor Who! BBC America shared these feature film style promotional posters for three new episodes!
courtesy BBC America
The Doctor and Clara take a Journey to the Center of the Tardis. If I recall producers haven’t taken us into unknown parts of the Tardis since the Tom Baker and Louise Jameson (Leela) era.
Rachel Rising is heading to television. Alcon Television Group chose the Terry Moore horror comic book for its first television project according to The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision. Moore will serve as an executive producer with Lloyd Levin, a veteran producer (Hellboy, Watchmen.)
“A horror story for people who don’t like horror stories, Rising centers on a woman named Rachel who wakes up dead in a shallow grave. She begins to unravel the mystery of her death while crossing paths with not only friends but also a mysterious blond woman who is tracking her and a horrific little girl named Zoe, out on a killing spree. Also figuring into the mix is the history of the local town, magic and witchcraft.”
The series was nominated for best new series for the 2012 Harvey Awards. Moore is acclaimed for his award-winning comics Strangers in Paradise and Echo.
I have to give a shout out to Susan who first recommended Rachel Rising at the Comic Book Round Table discussion group at our neighborhood shop, Zanadu Comics in Seattle!
