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After our interesting discussion on Miles Morales, the multiracial Spider-Man in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, it was great watching Stephen Colbert attack the issue with faux indignation. Colbert was his typically hilarious self, but especially funny to comic-book nerds. I was thinking about one of our other discussion when he brought up the fact that Superman is an illegal alien. It’s fantastic stuff, but what else do you expect from Colbert?
Thanks to my bud Parisi for posting this!
In case you didn’t know, the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Peter Park is dead (for now) and a young hero has stepped up to take his place. His name is Miles Morales and he’s multiracial. People are…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, whether Randy Moss is really retiring, CM Punk using his old and awesome Ring of Honor music, or naughty dreams about Margaret Hoover, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Man, this is even better than Superman renouncing his American citizenship! I’m talking about the new Ultimate Spider-Man of course. In case you didn’t know, the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Peter Park is dead (for now) and a young hero has stepped up to take his place. His name is Miles Morales and he’s multiracial. People are freaking out over a Spider-Man that’s half African-American and half Latino-American (check out this comments section). They’re angry and disturbed. Never mind that most of them haven’t read the comic book yet.
The “anger” over Miles Morales is seriously some of the stupidest sh*t I’ve read in the last decade. People are accusing Marvel and writer Brian Michael Bendis of being liberal tools. Some are saying that this is a pathetic example of being politically correct in 2011. Some even think that Miles Morales is a result of Barack Obama’s presidency. Again, keep in mind that I was reading all of these garbage reactions yesterday and the comic book revealing Morales’ race wasn’t available yet.
I really have no problem with this whatsoever. First of all, it’s fiction. Secondly, this isn’t Peter Parker. It’s an entirely new character in a series that’s known for modernizing the Spider-Man universe. I seriously don’t understand why Miles Morales’ race is even an issue.
Of course I want to hear your thoughts on all of this. Do you have an issue with Miles Morales Spider-Man? Or do you think he’s fine? Will people freak out over Laurence Fishburne playing Perry White in the Superman reboot? Please share your feelings (like a Care Bear) and don’t judge others with different opinions (also like a Care Bear)!
For my second Comic Con 2011 giveaway, I have two windbreakers courtesy of Activision. One is for Spider-Man: Edge of Time and the other is for X-Men: Destiny. Both windbreakers are size-L and feature removable earbuds…because you need music when you’re breaking wind.
All you have to do is leave a comment saying why you want one of these windbreakers for a chance to win. Please note that this contest is only open to people with a U.S. mailing address. Good luck!
I finally caught Captain America last night. It’s funny that Comic Con 2011 was the reason I wasn’t able to attend a screening or catch it on opening night. My initial feeling was that it’s a fantastic movie — up there with the recent Iron Man and Batman films. Certainly it’s better than Thor, which I enjoyed earlier this year. However, I can’t help but wonder if I’m being overly enthusiastic about Captain America because I was traumatized by the last superhero movie I saw (the amazingly crappy Green Lantern). Perhaps writing down random thoughts will help me figure it out. Prepare for musings and spoilers!!!
– Chris Evans was a fantastic Steve Rogers. I enjoyed him goofing it up in The Fantastic Four and being a Hollywood parody in Scott Pilgrim, but I wasn’t sure if he could pull off Captain America. He totally did. I was impressed by how he flipped between sincere and commanding throughout the movie. He showed range and depth, unlike Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern.
– The way the movie was written, Cap didn’t have any training. He went from receiving the Super Soldier Serum to hocking war bonds to becoming an amazingly skilled combatant with a tactical mind and the ability to fly airplanes. Yes, the Super Soldier Serum granted Cap increased strength, durability, and stamina, but where did the new skills come from?!? Perhaps I missed the part where Dr. Erskine injected him with Tactical Genius Serum and How to Fly a Plane Serum.
– I really enjoyed the tone of the movie. It was innocent, positive, and uplifting. Most of the scenes took place during a time when America was rapidly on its way to becoming the most amazing country in the world. It’s such a stark contrast to the tone of America today. The country has problems and ridiculous politicians — on both sides — are making maters worse. America is in a lull at best or in an irreversible decline at worst. Captain America gave me a feel-good vibe that made me miss my idea of America as a teenager.
– Hugo Weaving was great as Red Skull. On paper, this character should be completely ridiculous. Weaving made him fearsome and believable. More importantly, I stopped thinking of him as Agent Smith from The Matrix. One of my fears going into the movie was that I’d constantly expect Red Skull to say (in Agent Smith’s voice), “Mr. Rogers…we’ve been expecting you.” That only happened once (maybe twice).
– Hayley Atwell was brilliant as Cap’s love interest, Peggy Carter. She was strong, capable, and sexy-as-hell. I wish more Hollywood love interests were like her. I’m so tired of damsels in distress (in movies anyway). The writers made her look silly for a few minutes by including a completely unnecessary jealousy scene that added nothing to the movie. Aside from that, she rocked it.
– I was pleasantly surprised by Tommy Lee Jones. He’s mostly bugged the crap out of me for the last decade. He also made a pathetic Two-Face in Batman Forever. Jones deftly portrayed an intimidating colonel that delivered fantastic comedic lines. It would have been easy to make this character completely silly, but Jones did a great job at portraying a believable military leader with surprising humor.
– The shield usage was powerful, but never ridiculous. The fight choreographer did a great job at making the shield a natural part of Cap’s fighting style. The shield also made a satisfying “thunk” when it hit Nazis. I was worried that the director would go nuts with crazy shield ricochets, but that never happened.
– At the end of the day, I enjoyed Captain America for being a great superhero movie with an unusually positive tone. Most superhero movies strive for a gritty realism that attracts hardcore fans and adults or excessive comedy that attracts kids and general viewers. Captain America, being the (Western) paragon of the Marvel Universe, is way different from the X-Men, Batman, Iron Man, etc. He’s supposed to stand for something bigger than himself. He’s supposed to inspire. This movie reflects all that. The cast and crew did a wonderful job at crafting an uplifting superhero film.
I had a great time at Comic Con 2011. It was lots of fun freelancing for secret company. It’s always enjoyable watching fellow geeks celebrate geek culture. There was lots of celebrity watching to do. And…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the rolling camera bag of your dreams, Amir Khan’s drubbing of Zab Judah, or the passing of Amy Winehouse, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I had a great time at Comic Con 2011. It was lots of fun freelancing for secret company. It’s always enjoyable watching fellow geeks celebrate geek culture. There was lots of celebrity watching to do. And it was awesome hanging out with new and old friends from the videogame business. Unfortunately, my hotel was far away from the convention and it would have been difficult lugging my laptop around, so I didn’t get a chance to “hang out” with y’all. I missed you! Now onto some random thoughts on Comic Con 2011.
– The videogame panels I attended were fantastic. I loved watching hundreds — sometimes thousands — of fans cheer for games and game creators. Unlike DICE, GDC, and E3, Comic Con is open to the public. Watching “real people” mark out over seeing Altair in the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations trailer or geeking out over seeing Cliff Bleszinski was a treat for me. I’m hardly one of those “jaded videogame journalists”, but it was still refreshing, invigorating, and charming watching fans be fans.
– All that said, some of the Q&A sessions were painful. Some people asked moronic questions. Some people didn’t listen to the moderator’s instructions for the Q&A portion of the panel. Some people asked questions as if they were stoned, saying…one…word…every…five…seconds. Yeah, I realize that some people get nervous speaking in public and others are so excited to meet game creators, but there were times when I wanted to bash my head in with my monopod during Q&A.
– The kids loved the new footage from the upcoming Beavis & Butthead. I am so completely down for this. It will crack me up and transport me to a simpler time. Remind me to tell you about the “Summer of Beavis” some time.
– The buzz on comic-book movies was similar to the thoughts here. Most of the people I chatted with were amped for The Dark Knight Rises. Opinions were split on The Avengers trailer. The Spider-Man reboot received a ton of flak. Most of it was because a lot of people feel that it’s too soon for a reboot, but part of it was because some fans hate the new costume.
– During the Star Wars: Kinect panel, most of my friends in the videogame business had the same reaction: “Crap! Now I have to buy another Xbox 360.” It’s completely awesome and the noises it makes are giggle inducing. The Gears of War 3 limited edition looks cool, but isn’t nearly as charming as the R2D2 Xbox 360.
– A lot of my friends were dogging on the DC Universe reboot. I’m mostly looking forward to it. The biggest bummer for me is that Red Robin will not have his own book. I suppose the manly answer would have been being upset that Wonder Woman will no longer be showing off her legs in every panel.
– My party highlight was actually between parties. After Ignition’s fine shindig for El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, I bumped into a bunch of pals from Future. Among them was the super sexy, super fun, and super cool Annette Cardwell. I drunkenly latched onto her for 11 minutes. Sorry Annette! (bsukenyan, I saw Carolyn too! It’s always great to see her…especially when there’s drinking involved.)
– My only party faux pas (that I remember) was spitting up a bunch of my Jack & Coke when a PR lady asked me, “Are you still dating Zoe Flower?” A text message to Canada was sent immediately after the incident.
– During the Street Fighter X Tekken panel, the kid behind me said, “LOL,” “GG,” and “IDK.” I wanted to slap him. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I wanted to slap his mother for letting her son speak in such an idiotic manner. Kids these days….
Deepak Chopra is going to talk about Batman at Comic Con 2011. How awesome is that?!? I suddenly find myself scheduled to attend Comic Con…and I couldn’t be happier! This year’s show looks awesome…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Kona Mountain Coffee’s peaberry dark roast, Samsung finally confirming the Galaxy S II for an August release in America, or Shaq kicking off his NBA TV career by dissing Chris Bosh, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Deepak Chopra is going to talk about Batman at Comic Con 2011. How awesome is that?!? I suddenly find myself scheduled to attend Comic Con…and I couldn’t be happier! This year’s show looks awesome. Check out the amazing panel content slated for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Whether it’s the latest videogames, comic books, movies, or TV shows, Comic Con has it covered.
What Comic Con 2011 content or information are you looking forward to? Are you jazzed for the Halo Universe panel? Psyched for more information on The Avengers, Batman, and Spider-Man movies? Looking forward to George R.R. Martin talking about Game of Thrones season two and what’s next in A Song of Ice and Fire? Let me know what you’re into and I’ll try to dig up more 411 for you while I’m at the show. Please keep in mind that I’m attending a show for another publication (I’ll tell you later) and have to serve them first.
Hey…maybe Deepak Chopra is Batman!
Marvel.com editorial director Ryan Penagos has revealed that Katee Sackhoff will be voicing Black Cat in the upcoming Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Battlestar Galactica fans will remember Sackhoff as Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace. Males will notice that she’s a hottie.
Penagos also posted the first screen of Black Cat. The buxom cat burglar is Spider-Man’s sometimes nemesis and sometimes love interest.
While this post is partially an excuse to research photos of Katee Sackhoff, I’d love to hear what you think about her playing Black Cat in the next Spider-Man game.
Here’s a leaked trailer of the upcoming Spider-Man reboot starring Andrew Garfield. It’s most likely the trailer that was going to be used to dazzle the kids at Comic Con 2011. You can watch it now in all of its filmed-off-a-screen glory! The trailer was originally posted by We Got This Covered.
Please check it out when you have a chance and let me know what you think of that guy from the Facebook movie playing Spider-Man.
As I mentioned last week, DC Comics will be undergoing a universe-wide reboot on August 31, 2011. RPadholic smartguy mentioned that he was interested in same-day releases for digital comics so I thought I’d do some research for him. Digital versions of DC Comics will initially cost the same as their print counterparts: $2.99 for standard issues and $3.99 for over-sized issues. After four weeks, the digital prices will drop by $1.
Additionally, DC is experimenting with a combo pack for Justice League #1. A special edition for $4.99 will include a physical comic book and a code for a digital download.
The pricing scheme for DC’s digital comics seems fair. Obviously the company doesn’t want to piss off retailers, so the equal pricing was somewhat expected. Readers that can wait stand to get better deals; back issue prices normally go up, while their digital equivalents will go down.
What do you think of DC Comics’ digital prices? Are you interested buying comics digitally?
I was visiting Meltdown Comics earlier this week and the clerk noticed that I picked up the first two issues of Flashpoint. He asked, “Are you ready for all the changes coming to DC?” I replied, “I’m out of the loop. What’s going on?” He then explained it to me…and I’m still not sure I grasp it all.
Let’s start with Flashpoint. As you’ve probably discerned from the title, it’s a Flash story. It has Eobard Thawne (Professor Zoom, The Reverse Flash) mucking with time. Barry Allen finds himself in a world where he’s no longer The Flash, no longer married to Iris West, and Batman is a vigilante / casino owner (that’s not a typo). There are only three more issues of Flashpoint to go and I’m curious to see how it will wrap up. There seems like there’s too much to clean up. Unless…
…the entire DC Universe is just blown up! Yup, that’s what’s going to happen. At the end of August, all DC Universe titles will start over from issue #1. The clerk at Meltdown told me that some books — he used the Batman books as an example — won’t change too much, while others will change drastically. He mentioned that major changes are on the way for Superman. Flashpoint will conveniently make it so that Supes is younger, single, and only five years into his superhero career.
The general idea is to give characters a fresh start and modernize them. Adding to the freshness is renowned artist Jim Lee, who was tasked with redesigning more than 50 DC characters. The changes I’ve seen so far are mostly subtle. All the iconic symbols and colors are still there, but with an updated look. For example, it looks like the rebooted Wonder Woman understands that it’s much easier to fight crime in pants than in panties.
Other tidbits include Dick Grayson going back to being Nightwing and getting his own book. This made me happy. Unfortunately, Red Robin will be cancelled outright. This made me sad. I loved the issues of Red Robin that I read. It looks like I’ll have to stick with reading Teen Titans to keep up with Tim Drake’s adventures.
I’m sure there will be moments where the rebooted versions of the characters I’ve known decades make me sad. I’m also sure there will be moments where I’ll find characters more interesting than ever before. All of that pales into comparison to the relaunch of Justice League International! That book was my favorite of all time and I can’t wait for more “Bwahahahahahaha!!!” adventures!
