Top 12 Disney Infinity Characters We Didn't Get

Edited by Robert Beach 

By now, you may have heard that Disney Infinity, the thoroughly popular Disney video game franchise, is being discontinued. If you’ve never heard of it before, Disney Infinity was a bold experiment from the Mouse House to get in on the growing trend of toys integrated into video games. The concept (selling kids action figures that also act as playable characters in a video game) originated with Skylanders before Disney picked up on it, and now even Nintendo has gotten in on the act. 

Previously, when a Disney adventure like this failed, it was an indication of the companies plan to purchase a more successful iteration of the same concept; the way the failure of Disney’s boy brand action films prompted them to buy Marvel and Star Wars. While some have speculated this will happen again, that’s not today’s subject. Today, we mourn the Disney Infinity characters we’ll never get to see now that the line is discontinued. Let the requisitely somber top 12 list commence. 

Panel Vision - Captain America: Civil War Review

Edited by Robert Beach

Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately in the endless build-up to Captain America: Civil War is how much Captain America has become the embodying ideal of the superhero. This happens sometimes when a specific superhero property explodes into the popular consciousness, transforming its title character from well-known hero to universally recognized heroic ideal. Superman in 1978, Batman in 1989, Spider-Man in 2002, and now Captain America, they all stand as the best example of the superhero in their moment in time. 

The hows and whys of that phenomenon vary from character to character, but the essential unifying factor is each of these characters embodied some necessary conflict or fantasy that spoke innately to the concerns and ideas of their time. In the case of Captain America, I think what’s elevated him to nationalistic ideal and ambassador of an entire genre to the masses is his sense of loyalty, his commitment to ideals and to people. The quiet genius of Captain America: Civil War is it takes Cap’s great strength and turns into the fracture that shatters the entire Marvel status quo. 

Captain America: Civil War Trailer 2

Edited by Robert Beach 

There’s really no need for a preamble here is there? Captain America: Civil War is easily going to be one of the biggest films of the year, the starting pistol on phase 3 of Marvel’s vaunted cinematic universe after the mixed bag of phase 2 and the next installment of the seminal superhero of the 2010s. What’s more, the movie stars almost the entire Marvel roster of characters at the moment making it, in function if not in form, basically Avengers 2.5. 

It’s also serving as the introduction point for both Black Panther and Spider-Man, two long-awaited heroes finally making their way into the Marvel cinematic universe. The fact that everyone and their mother are breaking down this new trailer is as simplistic and acceptable a fact of life as gravity or the sky being blue.

Comics Rainbow - Witches

It’s a good time to be a witch.  I don’t mean literally, though based on my formative years in Salem, Massachusetts there are some places where it’s always good to be a witch.  I’m speaking more in broad pop cultural terms, as I almost always am.  This year marks the 20 year anniversary of The Craft, a hit mid-‘90s teen witchcraft horror flick that’s being lavishly re-released, Scarlet Witch is finally finding her footing as a major Avenger, and this month marks the release of the hotly anticipated Witch.  

Given all that, I thought I’d take a look at Witches in comic books.  Even though superhero books have always lived on combining disparate genres into a whole that’s greater than the sum of their parts there aren’t very many witches in comics but today we’re about to get the full spectrum on all of them. 

Doctor Strange #1 Review

I review Jason Aaron's All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange comic over on Front Towards Gamer, it's one of the best of Marvel's reboot books, check out the full review here:

http://ftg.operationsupplydrop.org/2015/10/13/dr-strange-1-review-comics/

Captain America: Civil War Allegiances Revealed

Edited by Robert Beach

As Captain America: Civil War looms closer to us, a lot of questions are swirling around the film’s plot. Though the film is based on a Marvel comic event, it’s been largely assumed a lot of key details will be changed for the adaptation. The comic book Civil War was essentially shot over the question of secret identities, which more or less don’t exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

There’s also been a lot of rumors swirling around unconfirmed characters like the Hulk, Red Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Captain Marvel.  Finally, there are a ton of Marvel superheroes confirmed for the film without any real indication of how they’ll side in the eponymous conflict. Thanks to Heroic Hollywood, we now know who is siding with who, and I’m gonna break down those characters one by one, starting with Captain America’s side.