Earth's Mightiest Heroes

So I've been really getting into the Avenging spirit lately, have you?

Last week I saw Captain America: The First Avenger and it was one of my favorite superhero films of all time. Director Joe Johnston just nailed the tone and look. Everyone keeps referencing his work on The Rocketeer, which was great, but Don't forget he also made a few clunkers so I'll say I was really pleased to see he brought his A-game to this one. Minor nitpicks like the way they killed off Bucky aside the film delivered on all fronts especially the cast. The film has pitch perfect casting and really great performances all around. For anyone who hasn't seen it yet I'd obviously, highly recommend it.

So as we all should know by now, Caps story is dovetailing into next summer's big Avengers film, being directed by none other than Jon Favreau. The movie will bring together every geek's wildest comic to film dreams, with Captain America joining Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow on Marvel's premiere super team The Avengers. There's already a short teaser trailer up for the film, and if you missed it the first time, the ending and credit sequence to The First Avenger, give us a bit more teaser goodies on the upcoming film.

I'm pretty stoked about The Avengers movie, since I've been a Marvel fanboy for a very long time. While I was never a huge Avengers follower, preferring to stick mostly with Spider-Man and some of the cosmic guys like Silver Surfer, I always enjoyed seeing my favorites interact with the Avengers, and whenever there was a big company wide event storyline I was always excited. The trick as with any ensemble cast is to make sure everyone gets enough screen time, and that it all serves the story. With this creative team involved though I am heartily optimistic.

I also just recently finished watching the first season of the latest Marvel cartoon on Netflix, and it couldn't have gotten me more in the mood for some Avengers action. The cartoon, which launches into its second season this October on DisneyXD, is of course The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The first season consists of twenty six 22 minutes episodes and will set you up really well with everything you'd want to know about the Avengers and more. All of the major players are introduced and explored, as well as most of the major villains, and even a few of the bigger storylines are tackled in this first season. As anyone who's read The Avengers comic even a little bit like me knows, the team has had a few different makeups over the years and Earth's Mightiest Heroes is no different. After the obligatory origin episodes, which I'm actually very glad they didn't rush through, the team lineup features: their team leader Iron Man, along with Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Ant Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, and Black Panther. Additionally a few other 'Avengers-to-be' make regular appearances, like Black Widow, and Wonder Man. What's great about these characters and the writing, headed up by Christopher Yost, is that everyone is given time to develop organically, we get a great balance of character moments where the players actually grow throughout the season and amazing battle sequences where the viewer is treated to just minute after minute of perfectly choreographed battle scenes.

If you think you're even remotely interested and you have Netflix streaming, I'd really recommend checking it out. The season is available for instant streaming right now, and if you only want to give one or two episodes a try, jump ahead to the two parter The Breakout, which kicks the season into high gear and gives a good sample of the action to come.

While I was on a Netflix streaming kick I realized that there are a lot of other Marvel superhero shows online. The 90s cartoons of X-Men, Spider-Man, Spider-Man Unlimited, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Silver Surfer are all available in their entirety right now; although Fantastic Four, and perhaps to be expected the pretty awful Avengers: United They Stand cartoons are not there. Other great Marvel cartoons are though, including the Spider-Man 1967 series, the first of the excellent two season Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, X-Men: Evolution, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, and the first season of the currently airing Iron Man: Armored Adventures (season 2 is in full swing now on Nicktoons). Unfortunately, none of the other more recent Marvel animated series (Wolverine and the X-Men or any of the Marvel anime projects) are available yet; nor are any of the other older Marvel animated series like the classic Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. That said there is also one more cool new series that is available on instant Netflix streaming that should be checked out: Black Panther the animated series. While I understand why fans we're a bit disappointing to learn that this miniseries (its only 120-ish minutes long in its entirety) wasn't much more than a souped up motion comic, I'd still really urge you to have a look. If you like motion comics, then you're in luck, this is probably the best produced motion comic ever with voice talents that include the amazing Djimon Hounsou, Alfre Woodard, and Kerry Washington. Also it's got a pretty kick ass opening title sequence with a catchy song.

If from all my babbling you can't tell yet, I am a pretty huge fan of these Marvel superheros. I love seeing how they work solo, getting in depth on their backstory and rogues gallery; but I'm also a huge fan of when they meet, crossover, and have excellent adventures together. That's why I'm so looking forward to the Avengers movie. A great crossover crossover is in the making and I don't think anyone would have anticipated that it could be done on such a scale in a live action form. For us fanboys this is a dream come true, and for everyone else, we'll this is the best time ever to get into a hero or three. I'm sure we'll get into more Avengers goodness as the film approaches release next summer, but until then count me very excited!
-

Avengers and Thor delayed!

Dammit that sucks! I have no doubt that getting everything together in just the right order for The Avengers is a huge headache, but I'm still disappointed to hear this news. Marvel has announced a revised release schedule for its upcoming properties, and the only film that has stayed squarely where it was, is Iron Man 2. So now here's what we're looking at for a release timeline:

Iron Man 2 - May 7th, 2010
Thor - June 17th, 2011
The First Avenger: Captain America - July 22nd, 2011
The Avengers - May 4th, 2012

So Thor and Avengers have both been pushed back a full year! That's what I call lame. I mean I get that they want to make the movies right, but I'm still disappointed.

In other Marvel news and rumor though there have been a few juicy casting notices out there. Apparently Mickey Rourke has finally signed on as the villain in Iron Man 2. After reports that the studio lowballed him on a paycheck word is that they have come to a much more reasonable figure now and he will be playing a Russian. No word exactly on who he's playing, but as a Russian its probably The Crimson Dynamo. Rumors are also about that Emily Blunt is no longer signed on the the role of Black Widow and it is now being offered to Scarlett Johannson. hmmm... Favreau has said that casting should be confirmed by the end of next week, and that there won't be any major surprises. Good news.

As for Thor news, well as has been mentioned before the word on the street has been lately that director Kenneth Branagh has been looking at Alexander Skarsgård for the title role, but IESB now says that Channing Tatum (aka Duke in the upcoming G.I. Joe film) is also in the running. The really big rumor on the Thor front though is that Josh Hartnett is interested in the role of the villain Loki. This is great news if you ask me, Hartnett would be fantastic as Thor's duplicitous brother. We'll have to see what becomes of this.

As for the Avengers, well over at AICN they're saying that the delay is partly due to financing, but also because Marvel wants Favreau to helm the film, and since hes definitely locked in to Iron Man 2, there wasn't anyway it could've happened before. That at least actually makes sense to me. Since the success of Iron Man, I've no doubt Marvel would love for Favs to take a crack at The Avengers.

So its kind of sad about the delays, but in the end I know I want them to make the best movies possible. If that means waiting one more year, then I guess, so be it. More on all of these as they develop.
-

Barrowman as Captain America?

Another great rumor for you fine folks today. Yesterday at SDCC after a panel, the Torchwood star John Barrowman was reportedly asked if there was any chance he might be playing or interested in playing Captain America in the planned upcoming First Avenger: Captain America movie.

And funnily enough Barrowman wasn't surprised at all. Although I hadn't heard his name bandied about he would make a fine choice. Reportedly after the stock answer of how much he'd love to play a role like that, and that Captain America was always his favorite hero, he admitted that his agents have been in discussions on that very issue.

Seems a bit out of the blue, but I have to think other than his name not being super recognizable to most of America, he might be a very decent choice. And if Marvel wants to play their cards really right they might just want to pick some young actor who is not all that well known. While Robert Downey Jr can transcend his stardom to become Tony Stark, maybe especially because his personal public past is somewhat reflective of Stark's fictional one I can definitely see some at Marvel feeling that a lesser known name might work better for the epitome of all that embodies America. Barrowman is a very good actor, and while not exactly what I'd envisioned for the part, I haven't any doubt he's got the chops for the role. I just wonder in terms of look... I mean I know hes got the square jaw, but isn't he just a bit... pretty? Kinda like Rob Lowe maybe...

We'll see how and if anything develops from this meaty rumor.
-

Marvel logos

Here's one more tantalizing picture from the Licensing Expo going on in NYC right now, MTV Movies Blog snagged this pic of the upcoming Marvel slate in logo form. Not that it means these films will really happen when they're supposed to, but its still neat to see.

-

Cap in Hulk?!

Well we may not be getting Hilary Swank as Black Widow in The Incredible Hulk film, but we just might be getting Captain America; sort of... The rest of this post may contain SPOILERS, so beware...

a few days ago Hulk director Louis Leterrier told G4TV that "As a filmmaker and as a fan, I like to go see movies and watch them several times ... and every time I see it, discover little things in the background. Did you know that in Iron Man, Captain America's shield can be found somewhere? Well in Hulk you might see Captain America himself!". As the video's down you can read more on it at Wired. But Seriously WTF?!!?! Captain America making an appearance in The Incredible Hulk?! Why that would be, simply incredible! ;)

Seriously though, could this just be another ploy like the black hearted grinch Avi Arad proved to be with his Black Widow red herring... or could it actually be something real? None of the early reviews I read mentioned anything about this... But it looks like the mystery has been solved. Yes Captain America was in the film, BUT the scene has been cut from the final theatrical version.

Talking to Juado.com, Leterrier clarified saying "“There’s a point when Bruce Banner gives up on his quest for the cure and decide to kill himself. So he travels far North and reaches the Arctic Circle. You might have seen bits of it in some of the promos. The result was a very dark and strong scene, which Marvel, me and everyone else’s considered to be too hard to young audiences to take, so we’ve cut it. Having that said, when Bruce arrives at his destination he meets up with Captain America! At some point this week, we will make it available on the internet – but I cannot tell you where or when – and the material will definitely be on the DVD.”"

So I guess what hes implying is that there was a shot of Captain America stuck in the ice somewhere. Rumors about the Captain America movie say that The First Avenger: Captain America will be entirely a period WWII piece and end with the Captain frozen in the arctic ice only to be revived into the modern world in 2011, just in time for The Avengers movie. So at this point in the chronology Cap should logically be somewhere in the frozen north. Thats really kinda cool. My guess / hope is that the Hulk dislodges Cap from the ice and the scene ends with a man sized iceberg floating away...

Even though its not going to be in the final cut, I still think its pretty cool.

Oh and just to end on some very good news Leterrier told SuperheroHype that he is definitely up for more Hulk in the future saying "I'll do another Hulk movie any day of the week. I love it! I love the character, I love the TV show. I love that he's an anti-hero, It starts with a great story and great cast. If you like movies, you'll like Hulk". Very judicious words...
-

Caps shield

I definitely missed seeing this from the Iron Man movie. But Comicbookmovie.com points out this juicy little piece of cross-promotional geek gold that is just too cool not to mention.

In the Iron Man movie at about the 1hr 30min mark, during the scene where Tony is having his robots pull the suit off him and Pepper walks in and he says "Let's face it this is not the worsts thing you've caught me doing" you can see in the background on a table none other than the very red white and blue shield of Captain America! very cool

CBM also mentions how it appears that the Super Soldier program will be mentioned in the Hulk movie. Nice :) It sure looks like Marvel is leading up to the big crossover in The Avengers by planting the seeds early. I definitely approve.

-

Captain America speculations

After last weeks awesome announcement by Marvel concerning their future film slate it seems like the internet fanboys collectively jumped up and down with excitement. And one films that really caused that buzz was the newly announced The First Avenger: Captain America. While as far as has been announced there is no script in place for, and that title of First Avenger is only even a 'working' one; there is already a fair bit of speculation on who will get to wear the red white and blue of Steve Rogers though.

And so far all signsd seem to be pointing to Matthew McConaughey. Both CinemaBlend and Latino Review picked up the scoop on this earlier in the week. But even they make note to mention how this is really at the extremely early stages of the game. Right now the studio should be making wish lists and that's about all.

For my money I think I might actually be alright with McCoughaney. He's definitely got the look down. We'll just have to see how this film gets a developed once Marvel gets going on Thor.
-

Marvel on the move

After a HUGE weekend for Marvel, at their earnings call this morning they dropped some great news for comic fans everywhere. Care of Superhero Hype Marvel has announced release plans for a slew of their next films. All of which have been rumors, but none of which had schedules on them.

The release slate now looks as follows...

The Incredible Hulk - June 13th, 2008
Punisher: War Zone - December 5th, 2008
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1st, 2009
Iron Man 2 - April 30th, 2010 (newly announced)
Thor - June 4th, 2010 (newly announced, Matthew Vaughn directing)
The First Avenger: Captain America - May 1st, 2011 (newly announced)
The Avengers - July 2011 (newly announced)

Besides the 4 new films announced, Marvel Studios president David Maisel also mentioned that Ant Man is still in development, for what I think we can assume will be a release near the Avengers film timeframe. And that Spider-Man 4 is also in early development. As an awesome little side note he also mentioned that the character Thor will be introduced in Iron Man 2. :) Doesn't that just make you happy? For a more complete list, check out the Marvel development wiki.

This is going to be awesome, seeing everything come together over the next few years leading up to the Avengers film. I love the fact that Mervel is putting so much effort and care into this stuff. Good work guys. Now we've got even more films to stalk :)
-

New deals with the WGA

Two great new deals were announced today between studios and the WGA. Both classified as interim deals I've no doubt these will be supplanted once the major studios and consequently the AMPTP gives up their stubborn ways and accepts the WGAs terms. I'm still very excited about these deals, because it means not only that some writers will be able to get back to work, but that these studios will be able to move forward on their films; and these are probably my two favorite studios. The first deal was struck with Lionsgate, creators of such esteemed new films as Rambo, Punisher: War Zone, and The Spirit. And the second with Marvel Studios, makers of all things comic and great. Their projects that have been currently stalled by the strike include Thor, Captain America, Ant Man, and more. So from my perspective, this is really just great news all around.

Here's hoping this will help the AMPTP realize that they need to shape up. Either that, or face a time in the very near future when their colleagues at studios who have made deals are raking in the money from an entertainment starved public and they are still sitting on their stubborn hands.
-

Upcoming Marvel - 08/07

Care of Marvel Entertainment via the fine folks over at Comingsoon.net, here is Marvel's upcoming slate of in the works projects...

Licensed Marvel Character Feature Film Line-Up
Wolverine - Fox - Director engaged (Gavin Hood)
Punisher 2 - Lionsgate - Director (Lexi Alexander) and lead actor engaged (Ray Stevenson)

Film Projects Being Developed by Marvel - partial list
Iron Man, Marvel - Completed principal photography; May 2, 2008 release
The Incredible Hulk, Marvel - Commenced principal photography; June 13, 2008 release
Ant-Man, Marvel - Writer (Edward Wright, Joe Cornish) and director (Edgar Wright) engaged
Captain America, Marvel - Writer engaged (David Self)
Nick Fury, Marvel - Writer engaged (Andrew Marlowe)
Thor, Marvel - Writer engaged (Mark Protosevich)
The Avengers, Marvel - Writer engaged (Zak Penn)

Marvel Character Animated TV Projects
"Spider-Man," Sony - In development; US distribution agreement with Kids' WB
"Wolverine and the X-Men," First Serve Toonz (India) - 26, 30 minute episodes in development
"Iron Man" Method Films (France) 26, 30 minute episodes in development

Marvel Character Animated Direct-to-DVD Projects
Doctor Strange, Lionsgate - August 14, 2007 release
Teen Avengers, Lionsgate - Targeted July 2008 release
Hulk Smash, Lionsgate - Targeted October 2008 release

Marvel Character Live Stage Projects
"Spider-Man the Musical," Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment- In development/opening date to be determined; Julie Taymor director; music & lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge

Marvel 2008 Video Game Releases (Release dates controlled by Publishing partner)
"Iron Man," Sega - Targeted 2008
"The Incredible Hulk," Sega - Targeted 2008

Awesome all around :) This makes me very happy. The only thing I'm dissapointed by is that they havent offciially announced a Silver Surfer film yet. But I'm especially glad to see the continuation of the direct to dvd animated films. I've been really enjoying that line. Also, I think that's the only stuff on this list I wasn't previously aware of. I'm sure in the weeks and months ahead we'll be talking more about everything on this list. Hooray!

-

death of a hero

I'm surprised but not overly upset to hear about the death of Captain America (wiki). I've only ever read a smattering of his comics, although I am very interested in check out The Winter Soldier story from a year or two ago. But generally speaking I'm familiar with the character like most of the rest of you probably are. He is a pop culture icon. He was the first real hero for Marvel, and an obvious answer to DC's Superman. Especially as a Canadian, I was never super into Captain America's perceived politics. I say perceived, because from what I can tell Captain America truthfully has not ever been a real reflection of the national politics of America, but more of the people. Oh sure he fought Nazis and probably hated the Communists like everyone, but from the samplings I've read, most of which are fairly recent, Captain America stands for what's really best about the country: it's people, and it's ideals. I know in the Ultimate line of books, which I love, Captain America has even talked openly about not agreeing with many of the governments policies. This is the Captain America that I enjoy, the Captain America I respect. But am I representative? Not really...

In this article C.A. series writer Ed Brubaker touches on the current dichotomy of character when he said that "hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the streetcorner against the Bush administration, and all the really right-wing [fans] all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam." If Captain America stands for, or can be considered a metaphor for, the people; then by his nature he, and the series must be in a very conflicted state. Maybe killing Cap for the time being is the only way to avoid alienating part of the fan base. Or maybe they wanted to make a comment about the state of the world, and America's role in it. Cause it definitely is a powerful message to have this symbol killed. But I'm not sure it actually helps anything. What do we learn from Captain America's death? And who's going to pick up the pieces?

I'd like to see Marvel continue the Captain America series, for a while at least. Show the fallout of this event, show what happens. I suspect they will, assuming they follow the path set out by The Death of Superman storyline. And while I think it might be really interesting if they let this series lie for a time. I expect them to bring it, and Captain America back into action soon enough. Consequence is a funny thing in comics. Heroes deal with it so often, but we as readers all know that lasting change almost never comes. Heck, I'm currently reading The Life and Death of Captain Marvel, one of their greatest characters ever, whose poignant death from cancer heralded the origin of the modern graphic novel. But as of Civil War, even he couldn't be left in peace. With Marvel finally cutting through the legal red tape, and looking to gear up for a Captain America movie, and sporting an Avengers movie in their designs can we really expect the hero not to return?

I encourage Marvel to really let Captain America rest, allow this to resonate through their comics, and in the community. His death now is of course significant, but not by much if we aren't faced with the consequences. But leaving him dead; now that would be brave, and that message might have some true meaning.