6 Questions About This Fall's Luke Cage

Edited by Robert Beach 

This Friday will mark the premiere of Marvel’s 3^rd Netflix series in the 2^nd season of Daredevil. However, that won’t be the end of Marvel and Netflix’s partnership this year as they’ll also be launching a new series this fall. Coming September 30^th Marvel’s Luke Cage will premiere on Netflix. Luke has already debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as a supporting character in last year’s hit series Jessica Jones.  

It was established in the series that Luke already has his super powers from the comics of enhanced strength and unbreakable skin. It’s also been confirmed Iron Fist, Marvel’s next proposed Netflix solo hero, will have some part in Luke’s outing. Beyond that, we don’t really know much about the Luke Cage show, so I’ve put together a list of major questions about the upcoming series. 

Venom Solo Film Announced

At time of writing, Deadpool is the highest grossing film of the year.  This kind of massive success is pretty much assured to have ripple effects, especially given the high number of mitigating factors involved.  Whatever you personally think of the character Deadpool is undoubtedly a novelty act, a C-list hero getting a spin-off dumped in February that no one at the studio level really believed in.  

Remember, this movie had to be WILLED into existence by Ryan Reynolds and Internet pressure and the big reason for that is that everyone assumed Deadpool was too minor a supporting character to sustain a film without some X-Men heavy hitter like Wolverine or Storm backing him up.  What’s more, Deadpool is the first superhero action movie with an R-rating we’ve had since Blade 2 to actually be a smash hit.  Both of these elements have combined for the latest post-Deadpool movie announcement, specifically that Sony is relaunching its Venom movie.

Super Bowl Trailer Round-Up

Edited by Robert Beach

Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone; Peyton Manning is finally banished from the world of pro-sports, and we’ve been left with a ton of movie spots for this year’s summer blockbusters.  However, given most of these spots are about 30 seconds each, there’s really no way to dig deep into the individual spots. They’re just a little too brief to devote a whole article too. Instead, I’m doing a big round up of most of the major ones. With that said, let’s dive in. 

Comics Rainbow - Captain America

Where do you start with a character like Captain America?  Originally created by legends of the medium Joe Simon & Jack Kirby Captain America is one of the longest running comic characters ever conceived, standing proudly alongside Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman as one of the few heroes whose been part of the genre since its inception in the late ‘30s.  After a brief absence in the ‘50s followed by reintroduction into the burgeoning canon of Marvel comics Captain America has become one of the most dynamic and compelling heroes in the entire genre.  He’s been through innumerable changes in his epically long history and in recent years come to be almost the face of the superhero genre in a way that no one could’ve predicted. 

For decades the hero people thought of when they considered the iconic hero was Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, even Iron Man for a hot minute there in 2008 but now, at this moment in time, it’s hard to think of a superhero who better embodies the genre and the reason for its continued success and relevance.  And with his new film Civil War continuing that trend and having it’s trailer drop I’ve decided to look back over the full history of Captain America, in all it’s shades, shames, and successes.   

Captain America: Civil War Teaser

Let’s not drag this out.  Captain America: Civil War is the 3^rd film in the Captain America series and will be the 13 Marvel Studios film overall.  Picking up in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron it follows the new team of Avengers led by Captain America and backed financially and logistically by Tony Stark who’s adopted quasi-retirement.  The film swirls around an international incident that causes the world governments to question the necessity of the Avengers overall and, at the very least, how smart it is to allow them to run around completely unsupervised leading to legislation to bring the heroes under the control of the government.  The decision brings a split between heroes as Iron Man supports the decision while Captain America opposes it owing largely to its impact and relation to his lost friend and comrade Bucky Barnes the Winter Soldier.  The division splits the heroes down the middle all while sinister forces seek to manipulate the situation and now it has a trailer and it’s great.

Marvel's Damage Control Show Coming to ABC

Edited by Robert Beach 

Marvel television is a spotty enterprise to be sure. As much as I loved Daredevil and enjoyed Agent Carter, there’s no getting around the many problems that seem to plague Marvel’s television projects. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the least interesting and least ambitious superhero show on the air right now. It's completely dwarfed by the conceptual craziness and continuity of Flash and Arrow while simultaneously being completely outclassed by Gotham’s stylistic affectations. That’s not even touching the excellent indie comic shows like iZombie or the long running and beloved Walking Dead. 

Add in upcoming challengers like Lucifer, Preacher, and Legends of Tomorrow, it’s obvious the TV game is rife with far more challengers than Marvel is really equipped to handle just yet. As such, it makes some sense that they’re actually working to expand their market share with a new kind of show. While Daredevil was a gritty crime series, Agent Carter a period piece and Agents of SHIELD a blatant marketing tool, Marvel’s latest TV venture will be a comedy based off the obscure comic series Damage Control.

Panel Vision - Gamma Guide: Marvel's Other Incredible Hulks

Edited by Robert Beach

This is a good time to be the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo’s version of the character is the most popular the character’s ever been in the public eye; we’re getting a new, diverse Hulk in the comics, and the major rumor is the Red Hulk will be coming to the Marvel cinematic universe in Captain America: Civil War. 

Additionally, with the major executive change-ups at Marvel Studios, there’s more chance now than ever before that we’ll see Hulk in his own movie. At the very least, we will see some more interesting spaces like possibly Dr. Strange or Guardians of the Galaxy. Given the mushrooming popularity of the Hulk, and the fact his expanded roster of characters is finally starting to garner some recognition, I thought I’d put together this Gamma Guide looking at all the other gamma irradiated heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe.

Assassin's Creed Film Doing Genetic Memories

Edited by Robert Beach 

Why is it so many video game films seem to purposely make terrible decisions in the adaptation process?  Even with junkie games like Assassin’s Creed, where the concept should be impossible to screw up, studios seem to have found a way. I’m a hardcore Assassin’s Creed fan and was looking forward to the upcoming film for a lot of reasons. Though the games have a lot of flaws, their aesthetics and style of action are definitely worth bringing to the big screen and would provide a unique visual spectacle that wouldn’t end up just ripping off a more popular work.
   

What’s more, Michael Fassbender is signed up for the lead role, and he’s an amazing actor that I actually am a major fan of. He’s a major fan of the games, so one could assume that the visual ethos and thrilling par core action would remain intact through the translation process. Even this first promotional picture is pretty awesome, a solid reinterpretation of the assassin gear for the 15^th century. Where is it all going wrong?  Two words: genetic memory.