Filmland - Nightbreed

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This weekend marks the premiere of Tim Burton’s latest film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.  I’ve heard the movie is decent but haven’t seen it for myself, though the premise is pretty intriguing.  The set-up is essentially X-Men but clothed in Tim Burton’s horror obsessions rather than the colorful palette of mid-‘70s superhero aesthetics.  

Basically it’s a movie where a bunch of horror infused super children are brought together to defend their existence from a bigoted outer world.  That’s an interesting and worthwhile idea, a fact I mainly know because it’s already been turned into a great horror/dark fantasy flick: Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.

Cover Story - Top 12 Luke Cage Covers

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So Luke Cage has finally premiered and become a pretty major deal.  The show is the final realization of a plan a decade in the making to shepherd G-list blaxploitation hero Luke Cage into the hearts and minds of popular culture.  Ever since his inception in the ‘70s Luke Cage has defined street level cool for Marvel, with his legend persisting through generations of creators and editors till it eventually rose him up to become an Avenger.  

Now, Luke Cage stands tall alongside Marvel’s greatest heroes as one of their premiere black heroes alongside the likes of Black Panther, Storm, and Blade.  What better way to celebrate such a momentous leap forward than with a look into the past and the Top 12 Luke Cage covers of all time.

8 Characters Sam Neill Could be in Thor: Ragnarok

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Thor: Ragnarok is shaping up to be the most exciting new Marvel movie since Winter Soldier.  The upcoming conclusion to the Thor trilogy jumped from being just another entry in Marvel’s least impressive franchise to something of actual note when Taika Waititi signed up to direct.  

Then the Hulk was revealed to be a major part of the film followed by Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, and Jeff Goldblum joining the cast.  Of course, the “Thor on Vacation” comedy video was an absolute hoot, and now another Jurassic Park alumni has joined the film with Sam Neill, playing a secret role. 

Neill’s announcement is a serious game changer and right from the outset we can extrapolate a few things about his character.  He’s a big name actor, so it’s probably an important part but his limited involvement in production hints at a more restricted role, suggesting the kind of big, meaty, multi-film role that Marvel likes signing more venerable actors like Neill.  With that in mind, and knowing the trajectory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ve come up with eight possible roles Sam Neill could be playing in Thor: Ragnarok.

Static Thoughts - History of Star Wars on TV

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Today marks the premiere of the 3^rd season of Disney’s CGI Star Wars series Rebels.  To mark this particular occasion, and because I want more Star Wars related content on this site, I’ve elected to celebrate with a look back at Star Wars’ history on TV.  A lot of this is forgotten now because of the strange way in which modern audiences remember geek phenomena but Star Wars actually has a very eclectic history in the realm of television going all the way back to the franchise earliest days and leading up to the present.  The series has been adapted through 2D animation, CGI, live action, and even stop motion in its 30 plus years of television adaptation.  Obviously, that’s a lot to cover so let’s dive in. 

Panel Vision - Justice Riders

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ne of the more surprising trends of the 2010s is that the Western is back from extinction.  This is mainly due to Tarantino re-introducing us to the versatility of the genre in 2012 with Django Unchained but it’s spread well beyond that.  There were more Westerns than superheroes movies in 2015 and now we’re gearing up for a double dose of the old west with the twin remakes of Magnificent Seven and West World.  This is hardly the first time Westerns have impacted the cultural landscape but the revival and the genre versatility it’s brought with it have certainly cast a new light on an old style. 

Even though this current crop of films are set in the Old West and feature cowboys and gun fights they all come with additional genre elements like Bone Tomahawk’s position as a horror movie, Hateful Eight is an Agatha Christie mystery, Ridiculous 6 was a comedy (hey I’m just talking about Westerns, not GOOD Westerns.)  All this genre crossover reminded me of my favorite Western comic book courtesy of DC Comics- the late ‘90s oddity that was The Justice Riders. 

Static Thoughts - Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD

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As I write this, it’s the eve of Agents of SHIELD’s 4^th and possibly final season.  To celebrate, I’ve decided to look back on the first time SHIELD was ever adapted to the small screen; the 1998 made-for-TV movie Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD, starring David Hasselhoff.  It’s easy to forget this now because of how much Marvel has transformed the cultural landscape but before 1999 virtually ALL of Marvel’s live action output was on TV.  This mainly came from a series of failed pilots in the ‘70s and the Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk show. 

However, after the success of 1989’s Batman and the 1990 Flash TV series Marvel made another go of it on TV, first forming a lucrative deal with Fox for animation (which is where the Spider-Man and X-Men show come from) and then pivoting into a pair of TV movie pilots.  This was the second, basically making it the last Marvel live action TV show before Agents of SHIELD, let’s dive in. 

Static Thoughts - 8 Possible Defenders Villains

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One of the most impressive things about Marvel is how well they’ve managed to colonize so many different forms of media successfully.  After successfully establishing themselves as the cinematic guardians of pop culture they’ve now moved on to be the best and most ambitious thing on Netflix.  

Sure, Daredevil might be flawed by Jessica Jones is the best superhero show we’ve yet seen and Luke Cage is shaping up to be the black superhero fantasy we’ve needed for two years now, at least. 

All of this is leading up to The Defenders series next year, which will see a crossover of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and the upcoming Iron Fist series.  So far the villain of Defenders has been pretty clearly the Hand, the magic ninja clan from Daredevil but recently Vincent D’Onofrio made statements that his villain Kingpin might return for Defenders.  Given this and how many loose threads tie through the MCU I’ve compiled a list of 8 possible villains we could see in The Defenders.

Panel Vision - Reinventing Iron Man for Iron Man 4

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Edited by Robert Beach 

As I write this, Robert Downey Jr. was photographed earlier in the week meeting with Jon Favreau and a handful of former Marvel behind-the-scenes individuals to discuss a new project. This has gotten the ball rolling in some corners of the Internet to start speculating on whether or not we’ll be seeing plans for a new Iron Man film sometime soon.  

The question of fourth installments, like Marvel’s powerhouse solo franchises Iron Man and Captain America, has loomed large in the distance on the long, slow, march towards the 2020s and Marvel’s Phase 4. It’s a legitimately major concern, especially the chopping and the changing over whether or not Robert Downey Jr. was under contract for more Marvel films. Given this recent swirl of rumors, let’s finally answer what’s going on with Iron Man 4.

1st Look at Arrow Season 5's New Heroes

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As Arrow barrels towards both us and what might well be its final season, the pressure is mounting for CW’s original superhero show to deliver something truly new and dynamic for its fifth season.  That pressure has been there for Arrow pretty much ever since its spin-off The Flash started pulling in a larger audience and revamped the entire superhero television tone in late 2014 but Arrow is really feeling the burn this year.  

After a magic-centric 4^th season didn’t really shake loose any new viewers, this new season features Green Arrow putting together a new team of vigilantes inspired by his deeds to protect Star City.  We’ve been getting the casting news all summer but now, thanks to some behind the scenes pics and a new trailer, we have our first new look at team Arrow 2.0. 

Film Land - 10 Found Footage Horror Films You Should Watch

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So, The Blair Witch has been a major success at the box office; a revitalization for a horror classic of dubious merit that no one really expected to be a franchise.  With everyone now caught up in found footage mania, it’s the perfect time to talk about my favorite entries in the genre and the top 7 found footage horror flicks I would recommend to newcomers interested in the style.  

I get that a lot of folks are kind of allergic to found footage horror, but I think that’s mainly because the found footage names tend to be the worst examples of the genre, stuff like Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity.  For every one of those flat, paint by numbers haunted house found footage features there are at least 3 weird, high-concept horror offerings that only manage to work because of the crutch afforded them by the found footage structure, and today we honor them.

Dichen Lachman Cast as Roulette in Supergirl S2

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One of the interesting things about Supergirl is that they’ve done a good job of introducing villainous super women to compliment all their heroic women.  Woman super villains are actually still a pretty major rarity in the world of superheroes and especially in comic book adaptations.  I mean, across the vast gulf of superhero movies we’ve had since Superman in 1978 there are only about five female villains of note in the entire run.  What's more, a good chunk of those women are henchwomen like Ursa from Superman 2, Faora from Man of Steel, Mystique from X-Men 1 and 2, or Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Meanwhile, Supergirl featured General Astra as its main antagonist along with classic Superman foes like Livewire and Silver Banshee plus some more obscure woman counterparts to Superman foes like Indigo instead of Brainiac and Bizarro Supergirl.  Now, the show adds another woman villain and one of the truly vile and the villainous master criminals of that niche genre- Roulette, played by Dichen Lachman.

Gotham Season Three News Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach 

We are one week out from the premiere of Gotham season three, subtitled "Mad City."  Gotham is one of the lesser superhero shows currently swirling in the vat of comic book television, mainly owed to poor timing. One of the strange things about superheroes on TV is how sudden and immediate the shift in landscape has been.  

Superheroes have been on TV in some form for every decade since the medium's inception, but it wasn’t till 2013 that people started paying serious attention. That was when Marvel entered the arena with the shockingly underwhelming Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which complemented the equally underwhelming Arrow. 

Then, in 2015, everything changed with The Flash, when it burst out of nowhere to become a high-concept family favorite adventure program. Now every superhero show needs continuity, scope, weirdness, and a real super-powered hook.  

That particular demand screwed up Gotham season three, which was caught in a transition between the grounded noir tone of season one and the out-there demands of season two. Season three now promises a season of monsters and madness. Here’s what to expect. 

Static Thoughts - Top 15 American Horror Story Season Six Teasers

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Edited by Robert Beach

At the time of writing, the American Horror Story season 6 premiere is just two days away and. So far, the theme has remained thoroughly under wraps. Though there have been a handful of rumors, they’ve ranged from "The Mist" to "Orphans," so it’s still pretty much anybody’s guess what the latest season of the popular anthology horror series will be about. However, I’m not here to speculate, rather I'm praising the 24 teaser trailers FX released for this new season; each teaser has its own unique aesthetic and thematic creation. 

It was an amazing run of creativity to keep the fans guessing on what would come next for the show and has left us with a plethora of great 10-second horror films exploring the history and styles of the genre.  Now, because 24 is a huge number of videos to talk about, I’m widdling that down to the top 15 for this list. With that said, let’s dive in.

6 Questions about New Warriors

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Edited by Robert Beach

Something peculiar about the story of Marvel Studios, the little comic book company that dreamed of making movies, is how well they’ve managed to wipe clean people’s memories of their failures. As far as the general public is concerned, Marvel has never failed, more or less cemented themselves as an unstoppable blockbuster juggernaut and America’s cinematic guardian. This takes a lot of mental editing when you take into account how often Marvel has let us down. And nowhere has that been more evident than in their many botched attempts at Network TV. 

After three seasons of diminishing viewership, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to bring in Ghost Rider to resurrect season 4. Their Most Wanted spin-off fell through, and most of Marvel’s “in the works” TV projects seemed to have stalled. This all got so bad that Marvel allegedly met with ABC about what their future in television held. It seems we now have our answer in the form of The New Warriors and also Squirrel Girl.

Static Thoughts - The Pinky Protocol

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Edited by Robert Beach

As we enter the last few months of the 2016 American Presidential election, a strange trend has emerged out of the political discourse. While both this and the 2012 election have been colored by taking place after the explosion of Internet use from 2007-2010, this particular election has delved head first into web culture.  

From Hillary Clinton name-dropping Pokemon Go to Donald Trump sliding into the role of alt-right meme to Jill Stein tweeting about Harambe, this is very much the election the net built. The latest iteration of this idea, or rather a persistent example that’s picking up steam, is the Internet’s infatuation with conspiracy theories. 

Conspiracy theories have always circulated any given political election, but this is the first time we’ve heard major candidates like Trump talking about political conspiracies directed at them in an attempt to preemptively invalidate their opponent’s victory.  

That particular strategy, forming an elaborate conspiracy to cast oneself as the victim of persecution and frame your megalomania and totalitarian ambitions as courageous freedom fighting is hardly new. In fact, I first encountered it two decades ago in an episode of Pinky and the Brain. 

Cover Story - Top 10 NFL Super Pro Covers

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Sports and nerds, two simple concepts that have, for some reason, never really managed to come together.  By now I think we’ve all encountered the somewhat tired argument that nerds and sports have more in common than anyone would like to admit but it really bears repeating.  Sports are one of the only places in real life dominated by colorful costumes and iconography at all in line with the nerd palette and produces the same amount of fandom granularity and sense of defining identity.  

That was the crossover point Marvel comics was hoping to capitalize on in the ‘90s when they forced NFL Super Pro into the world.  NFL Super Pro was exactly what it says on the cover- a collaboration between Marvel Comics and the NFL to produce a football themed superhero, or rather I should say other football hero as their first attempt was called Kickers Inc., which I already covered.  Given that I’m a shameless hack willing to pander to Twitter hashtags, I’ve elected to honor NFL Super Pro with a look back at his top 10 comic covers. 

Panel Vision - Soviet Super Soldiers #1 Review

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Edited by Robert Beach

As globalization continues to be the dominant force of the 2010s, the first major foreign superhero film has finally gotten off the ground. This was relatively inevitable as foreign markets have always looked to America for inspiration. With superheroes, things were a little trickier. The Superhero is a quintessentially American art form. While there are superheroes from other nations, they’re rarely as common or as widespread. 

This first entry into the genre from a major outsider comes from Russia in the film The Guardians. It looks pretty fun; at the same time, it’s eerily reminiscent of another Russian superhero group. I’m not sure if this is a case of The Guardians borrowing from what already exists, or Marvel just being really good at encapsulating the Russian heroic aesthetic. Either way, it’s given me excuse to showcase on of my favorite culture artifacts: Soviet Super Soldiers #1.   

Cover Story - Top 10 Deathstroke Covers

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Let’s talk about Deathstroke.  This will be my third article dedicated to Da’ Stroke, as I’ve elected to lovingly call him, and I like to think of it as trying to make peace with the Terminator.  I may dislike him for the role he played in Identity Crisis and the undo importance thrust upon him in most adaptations, but regardless of my feelings, it’s clear Slade Wilson isn’t going away anytime soon.  

As such it’ll probably be better to try and find common ground now than keep resisting him, especially because his current ongoing series is shaking out pretty well and I really like Joe Manganiello.  As such these are the top 10 Deathstroke comic covers I’ve culled from across the shockingly high number of solo series he’s had.  Seriously, for a villain, this guy has had like 4 solo series at least, but I guess that just speaks to his appeal.  Let’s see if I can find what everybody else sees in these books. 

Panel Vision - Prez (2015) Review

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Edited by Robert Beach

This has been a strange year for politics. Mainly this election feels like the capstone on the long trend of social media growing to define the political arena rather than just reflect it. At the time of writing, the most recent bit of bizarre web memetics dominating the conversation about the national election came when the head of Latinos for Donald Trump threatened that “if Hillary wins, you’ll see Taco Trucks on every corner.” 

Naturally, this bit of bizarre posturing has drawn uproarious laughter from most corners, probably because “a taco truck on every corner” sounds like a god damn utopia. Even though the injection of tacos into the forefront of the presidential election seems ludicrous, it made me realize there had been on brilliant voice who saw this all coming, one spot-on genius comic: 2015’s Prez. 

Panel Vision - History of Deathstroke: A Plea Against Modern Deathstroke

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Edited by Robert Beach 

It’s starting to look like the DC villain Deathstroke will appear in next year’s Justice League and will more than likely be the villain of Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film.  I’ve been hesitant to address this news because, frankly, I’ve been holding out the hope that it was all some elaborate misdirection meant to obfuscate the real villain being Clock King, Dr. Destiny, or someone else, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. If that bit of misplaced optimism wasn’t an obvious enough giveaway, I’m not terribly excited over this Deathstroke news. I get the sense I’m an outsider in this particular arena. 

Most Bat fans are salivating at the notion of Deathstroke making his second live-action debut while a good number of more moderate comic fans are happy to see their favorite Teen Titans villain make it to the big time. Even some older fans out there are happy to see Deathstroke’s return to culture prominence. To understand this along with the character’s future, we need to look at his past, so let’s dive into the history of Deathstroke to see why I’m the only one not thrilled about his adaptation. 

CW Announces Black Lightning Show

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Edited by Robert Beach 
You have to wonder how many superheroes there are to adapt. I mean, I love the genre, and I flatter myself by saying I have a vast and encyclopedic knowledge of both Marvel and DC heroes. At some point, there just aren’t going to be the characters to keep these movie and TV universes going. More than that, the more times the folks behind these adaptations try and repeat their success, the less likely they are to manage it. I mean, WB has been trying to recapture the success of Dark Knight for 8 years, and they haven’t managed it once. Now, over at CW (aka the only good DC production outlet currently working), they’ve recently announced they're launching their 5^th superhero show, starring DC’s first solo black hero Black Lightning.