Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

The Avengers: Age of Ultron has a lot of what made the first Avengers movie great: humor, insane action and a pretty decent well, well thought out story. I would even go as far as saying that it was better than the first!

Admittedly, if you'are a casual comic book fan, you could be a little lost in the film. Obviously, it's a good idea to at least check out the past Marvel films, and perhaps have some "basic" knowledge on the Avengers outside of the film conglomerate.

Was it exactly like the comic book? No. Do I care? Nope! Comic Book movies can't always be exactly the same as the comics. And I'm okay with that.

WARNING - Spoilers Ahead:

The Black Panther: 

While the Black Panther wasn't actually in the film, the movie set a major Easter egg by having Ultron in Wakanda in search of Vibranium, and consequently slashing Ulysses S. Klaw's hand off.

So what does this have to do with the Black Panther? Wakanda is a fictional African tribe in the Marvel Universe. The Black Panther aka T'Challa is the King of the region....which happens to be rich in Vibranium (the super rare metal that Captain America's shield is made out of).

Ulysses S. Klaw is the Joker to the Black Panther's Batman. Which means they're enemies - d'uh. It's no coincidence that Ultron sliced off this dude's arm. He's known to have a supersonic mechanical arm in the comic books which he uses to bring down his foes.

I'm sure we'll see a continuation of this in the upcoming Black Panther film (set to release July, 6, 2018).

The Vision: 
My favorite "new" character, without a doubt, has to be The Vision. One of THE best parts of the film had to be the vision lifting Thor's hammer like a common spatula and leaving all of the Avengers in awe. That's when the Avengers realize they can trust him since only someone worthy and pure of heart can wield Mjolnr.

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The Hulk's Final Scene: 
While we don't know exactly what the Hulk saw when Scarlet Witch messed with his brain, he seems somewhat distraught at the damage he'd caused during the epic battle with the Hulk Buster. He clearly sees himself as a dangerous monster and more of a liability than a hero.

In his final appearance, he almost seems to say goodbye to Scarlet Witch as he drifts off into the skies into the Quinjet. Nobody knows where he is going, and I don't think we're supposed to know either. But, it does raise one question: Could this be a segue to Planet Hulk? In Planet Hulk, the Hulk is sent off into another planet because he's such a danger to the people of Earth. In my completely unbiased opinion, if done right, I think this would be a great Hulk standalone film!

Thanos:
He's been teasing his appearance since the first Thor film, but this final appearance in the end credits makes it seem like he's almost here. With just one Infinity gem left, and the Infinity Gauntlet in his possession we won't have to wait until the end credits to see Thanos any longer...

So what did you think of the film? What are your theories on upcoming Marvel films?

Everything We Know About The Deadpool Movie

It will NOT be PG-13:

If you're a true Deadpool fan, you know it's not necessarily family friendly. There is an insane amount of violence, obscene language and of course "unicorn sex." And that's the way fans like it!

In this hilarious Extra April Fool's video Ryan Reynolds sets the record straight with Mario Lopez.

It will be filmed in Vancouver, Canada:

Deadpool was experimented on in Canada, which is where he gained his abilities. This could be a hint that we'll see some of that origin story in the film. 

It will not be the same Deadpool we saw in Wolverine: Origins:

I think I speak for everyone when I say, "Thank God!"

This Deadpool will really be known as the "merc with a mouth." He should be witty, reckless, and from the looks of the test footage last year, he will be breaking that fourth wall - speaking to fans directly from time to time. 

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, his costume will stay pretty true to the comics. 

It has the Deadpool creator's seal of approval:

Rob Liefeld, the creator of Deadpool is already comparing Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool to Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man. He says that Ryan Reynolds will own the role. I believe and hope he's right. You can see the rest of his comment here - http://www.cinemablend.com/m/new/Deadpool-Creator-Already-Comparing-Movie-Iron-Man-Guardians-Galaxy-70688.html. 

One thing is for sure - Reynolds is committed to giving fans what they want...chimichangas!

A Maus Tale: A Review of Art Spiegelman's Maus

Art Spiegelman's Maus is not your typical comic book. It's a comic book, a biography and even an autobiography all in one. The two part story is widely considered one of the best works in comic book history.

When I first heard about Maus, a comic book, about the holocaust, where Jewish people are depicted as mice and the Nazis are depicted as cats I was intrigued, but at the same time curious how it would work. First of all, I'm usually into comic books like X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man etc. Secondly, this is the Holocaust - the biggest crime and tragedy in all of human history. It's got to be one hell of a comic book to tell this story in such a way - and it is.

What I loved about this comic book, was not only that it recounted the horrors that Vladek Spiegelman went through during the Holocaust, but that it also gives you a raw portrayal of his relationship with his son, and author of the book, Art Spiegelman. As we learn about Vladek's experiences, we are also taken through the journey of Art interviewing his father and reacting to the events as we do. As I read more and more, I felt as if I was sitting in Vladek's kitchen in Rego Park, NY listening to his story of survival.

Vladek and Art Spiegelman

Surprisingly, there was a lot of humor in the story. Often times it felt like I was reading something that came right out of Seinfeld script. The author's art work and story telling are so great in this book that my emotions ranged from laughter to complete horror or sadness without ever turning the page.

Vladek's resourcefulness, hope and love for his first wife, Anja kept him alive through the Holocaust. Remembering his wife seems to open some wounds and also fill a void that he shares with his son, Art.

Now let's touch a little bit on the animal metaphors. Spiegelman chose to depict Jewish people as mice. The mouse is a very hard working animal, smart, but pretty defenseless. As Spiegelman noted in his book, Jews were viewed as mice by Nazis for another reason - they were the "vermin of mankind".

But I think there is another reason he chose mice. Mice are survivors by nature. No matter how many mouse traps you set, or which exterminator you call, mice always find a way to survive.

It's pretty obvious why he chose Nazis to be cats if Jews were mice. Cats are the natural enemy of the mouse. Let's face it cat people, they can also be pretty cruel. They kill for fun, and play with their food before eating it - if they eat it at all.

Americans were depicted as dogs in the book. Dogs are man's best friend, are friendly, and they traditionally hate cats. They are loyal and are the most "powerful" among cats and mice. Unless I'm missing something, Spiegelman went pretty easy on Americans, considering how long it took for them to step into the war.

There are so many layers, and emotions to this book, which is what makes it so great. Whether you are into comic books, history...or just like reading, I think you should check Maus out. I can now safely say that Maus should be on your list of must read comics. 

Everything You Need to Know About Ant-Man

One of Marvel's latest projects is bringing one of the founding members of the Avengers; Ant-Man (not Aunt-Man), to the big screen. From my experience, the general public does not really know or care to know who Ant-Man really is. This truly hurts me right in the thorax since I find the character so interesting (that's an ant joke in case you missed it).

I am sure that this film will change the public's views once it's released, but I can't wait that long. So here is everything you need to know about Ant-Man.

Just to let you know, there were three different characters which donned the alias: Ant-Man (Hank Pym, Scott Lang, Eric O'Grady), but let's concentrate on the original, and creator of the technology; Dr. Henry 'Hank' Pym. Hank Pym is a biophysicist credited for discovering Pym Particles, the chemical in Ant-Man's suit which allows him to either shrink or increase in size.

He is arguably the most complicated Avengers character, constantly battling between a life of science and peace vs being a superhero, using powers for violence. As he struggles within himself, he constantly joins and quits the Avengers. He struggles in his relationship with fellow avenger, The Wasp, and is even driven to a period of insanity.

Hank Pym's superhero life is almost complicated as his personal life. He adopts multiple aliases throughout the years, Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket and Wasp. It's one of the biggest superhero identity crises in comic books.

Ant-Man

Ant-Man is the most popular name of the superhero. As previously mentioned, Ant-Man has the ability to shrink down to the size of an ant. The cool part is, he still keeps the strength of a full-sized human, as you can see in the above image. In addition to altering his size, Hank Pym also wears a special helmet which gives him the ability to communicate with all insects, which can be very useful when you're out on a picnic. 

Giant-Man

It may seem confusing, but Giant-Man and Ant-Man are not two separate characters. Giant-Man is simply the name that Hank Pym is given whenever he increases in size. The same suit and and superhero have the ability to either shrink to the size of an ant, or tower over skyscrapers. Obviously, different situations require different versions of the same superhero.

Goliath

Goliath is essentially Giant-Man with a new costume. Not much to say here, but it is an interesting costume. 

YellowJacket

If you're unfamiliar with insects, a Yellow Jacket is also a wasp found in North America, which explains the black and yellow color scheme. 

When Hank Pym adopts the persona YellowJacket, no one knows his true identity. He claims to have killed Hank Pym. He goes about crime fighting in a seemingly brutal or violent way, but it turns out that this was also a front. It is not until he kisses the Wasp, that she realizes that Yellowjacket is actually Hank Pym.

Ultron

While this character is associated with Hank Pym, this is a completely different "person". Ultron is a robot with artificial intelligence created by Hank Pym and Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), but mostly Hank Pym. Ultron was designed to help the Avengers and help rid the world of crime. However, it took Hank Pym's thoughts on crime and came to his own conclusion that to eliminate crime, he must eliminate humans. Ultron is one of the Avengers' greatest super villains.

The introduction of Hank Pym, may or may not be connected to the upcoming film, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. I'm not exactly sure how or if they will make the connection.

So there you have it, that's everything you need to know about Hank Pym, plus a little more. By the way, this is simply a summary. There is a lot more to the character that I am hoping that the film will capture.

So what's your favorite thing about Ant-Man so far? What are you hoping to see in the film?

Zack Snyder Finally Reveals Ben Affleck's Batsuit

There has been plenty of anticipation surrounding the upcoming Man of Steel sequel referred to as Batman vs Superman (which seems more like a Justice League movie to me). One of the things that has left fans impatiently wondering is, "what will Batman's new suit look like"?

One of my favorite things about Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was the interpretation of Superman's alien costume. (It was about time someone get rid of the red undies!) I have been very curious to see what they would do with Batman. So without further adieu, here is Ben Affleck in the brand new Batsuit...

And just in case you were doubting the legitimacy of this news, it was tweeted directly from his Twitter account:

I shot this with my @Leica_Camera M Monochrom. #Batman #Batmobile #Gotham http://t.co/WPHKLxgBLM pic.twitter.com/p5DEf6fLzJ
— ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) May 13, 2014

As a cherry on top you can also see a small glimpse of the Batmobile. While awesome, I wasn't a fan of the way the latest Batmobile, The Tumbler looked, so I'm glad to see a Tim Burton-esque batmobile.

If you look at the enlarged bat symbol you will notice that it strays away from the Christian Bale Dark Knight trilogy and is much more reminiscent of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (below). In the Dark Knight Returns storyline, Superman and Batman actually do duke it out, so this could be a foreshadowing of what's to come in the film.

I might add, Ben Affleck looks pretty darn good in the Batsuit. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments section.

Young Justice Now on Netflix!

Get your jammies ready, grab some super snacks and get ready to binge, binge, binge! The first season of DC's Young Justice is now available on Netflix. Let me take the opportunity to say that this one of the best DC animated series ever...arguably better than Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. There, I said it.

The series follows superhero sidekicks like Robin, Aqualad, Speedy, Super Boy and other teen heroes like Artemis, and one of my favorites...The Blue Beetle.

I'm a huge fan of story, depth and continuity, and that's why this show is at the top of my list. There is so much complexity and plot turns in this story that you would swear you're reading a Jason Bourne book. Other than story, the fight sequences are so masterfully put together.

I could talk all day about this, OR you could just watch the unofficial trailer below and start watching on Netflix. Enjoy!

Click here if you are on a mobile device

Son of Batman: The Animated Movie

Batman...with a son? It's a surprise to him too. Come to think of it, with so many love interests, he probably should have seen this coming. Ever heard of Batraceptive?

Anyway, Damian Wayne is the son of Batman. It's no coincidence that he shares the same name as the anti-christ in The Omen. Damian's mother is Talia Al Ghul...which makes him the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul. Ra's Al Ghul is one of Batman's greatest enemies. He is a skilled assassin (Master of the League of Shadows), a brilliant mastermind, he is thought to have lived for centuries (experience), and his name in Arabic means "head of the demon" (cue: lightning, thunder and heebie jeebies).

Despite Batman always foiling his plans, he still considers "The Detective" his greatest adversery and hopes that they can one day be allies. So, is it actually a coincidence that his daughter births a son with Batman's DNA which he can mold and help grow on his own? Maybe, maybe not. I'll speculate and let you find the rest out on your own.

As you'd expect, Damian was taught to be ruthless, tactical and trained to kill. That last part might not sit well with his dad. But with the revelation that his grandfather was killed by the mercanery Deathstroke (THE Greatest assassin in the DC Universe), he may not have much of a choice.

It's the first time that we'll see Damian in an animated movie, or any movie, so I am very excited. The storyline and artwork is great. Voice actor, Stuart Allen seems like the perfect fit for the Damian Wayne voice. I love the little glimpses of energy and attitude that I've seen so far. The movie is set to be released by May 6, 2014, but in the meantime, check out the awesome trailer below and let me know what you think in the "comments" section.

Click Here To View The Trailer on A Mobile Device