Toaster's Ramblings - The Convergance of the Secret Wars (or How Marvel and DC Had the Same Summer Event)

It seems that Marvel and DC both have pretty much run the same storyline event for the summer. Both Secret Wars and Convergence deal with time and reality getting smashed together into a jumbled mess of different characters from different worlds, where they all fight and eventually everything gets (sort of but not really) rebooted. I do find it amusing that DC has had the New 52 around less than five years and already needs to do a "soft" reboot. (A soft reboot, by the way, is when some parts of a universe get a fresh start while others continue on as normal.) Now maybe it was just a coincidence that both comic companies ran similar events, but I doubt it. Marvel has apparently been working on Secret Wars for five years, while reviews suggest that Convergence felt rushed in many ways. DC probably got wind of what Marvel was planning and set out to do their own version and release it a few months early (Convergence started this past Spring and is already over. Secret Wars is currently ongoing.)

Honestly, I haven't been following either event. Five dollars an issue for Secret Wars is too much, I would rather wait for a trade edition. As for DC, I'm pretty much done with them. Not only have I grown to hate the New 52, but DC decided to implement a new way of placing advertising into their comic books...

DC You? More like DC... You Suck!

Yeah, so as long as that ridiculous shit is going on, I'm out. If Marvel does it too, I'll be done with them as well. I don't mind a page add, or even a two-page add, but I will not share comic book art and storyline on the same page as an advertisement. That's bullshit. Not only does it take you out of the story, but it is disrespectful to the very medium of comic book art. Imagine if instead of specific commercial breaks on television, commercials randomly play in the middle of your show. Let's say you're watching CW's Arrow and Ollie is about to fight Deathstroke and just as the first punch is thrown, we cut to a Clearasil commercial, then go back to the punch in mid-swing. It would kind of piss you off, now wouldn't it? Well, split-page ads piss me off just the same way.

I don't really know what the post-Convergence DC universe looks like, but the Marvel one is interesting. First of all, much of the pre-Secret Wars developments remain intact. Falcon is still the new Captain America and Steve Rogers is still old. Thor is still a woman (Jane Foster). Wolverine is still dead. The Fantastic Four, as a team, is also dead with Human Torch hanging out with the Inhumans and Thing the new pilot for the Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not really sure where Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman will end up, though the latter was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. before the event.

The list of the post-Secret Wars title launches has been released and while some really don't interest me at all, others are quite intriguing. Here are my thoughts on the upcoming books:

A-Force #1 - AKA the "female Avengers." Seems a little on the nose to me. "You want more gender diversity? Have an entire book of woman Avengers!" It almost borderlines on gimmicky to me. I will say that there seem to be far more women Avengers than their were in the 90's when most seemed to be female versions of popular male heroes (She-Hulk, Spider-woman), but that may just be due to the fact that in the last 10 years, EVERYONE seems to be an Avenger. I also wonder, who will a team of female Avengers fight? Will they face female villains? How many female villains does Marvel have that are an Avengers level threat? I might thumb through the first issue to see what this book is like, but I don't expect much.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 - I don't watch the show, why would I read the comic?

All-New All-Different Avengers #1 - I might actually get a subscription to this one. I like the younger line-up of Nova (Sam Alexander), Ms. Marvel and Spider-man (Miles Morales) contrasted with veterans like "Falcon America," Jane Foster Thor, Iron Man and Vision. It has a Young Justice vibe to it.

All-New Wolverine #1 - While it's interesting that X-23 is the new Wolverine, I doubt I will buy the book.

All-New X-Men #1-  So are they still the original X-men from the 60's (or whenever they're supposed to come from, something tells me the present Cyclops isn't in his mid-50's)? I don't know. I didn't read the book before and I'm pretty sure I won't read it now. It seems like the novelty of young versions running around with their older counterparts would have worn off by now.

Amazing Spider-Man #1 - I'm guessing this is the Peter Parker Spider-man since Miles Morales has the non-adjective Spider-man book. I don't know... I might look at it. Maybe it will be unique. I doubt I will buy it, though.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1 - I liked when Angela was time-displaced and hung out with the Guardians of the Galaxy, having a friendly rivalry with Gamora. Then for some reason it was revealed she was Asgardian... which is weird. I guess Marvel wanted to start over with her back-story, but I would have preferred that she is the same character from Spawn that now is stuck in the 616 universe... and occasionally alludes to her former life. I'm just not sure I care about her as Asgard's assassin... the Asgardians already have Sif and the Jane Foster Thor... I might flip through the book, but I doubt I will be impressed.

Ant-Man #1 - Never been much of an Ant-man fan. The whole shrinking thing never seemed that useful unless you are evil (like Atomica in Forever Evil). Then you can scramble people's brains or enter their body and grow to normal size so your victim pops like a balloon. But commanding an army of ants? Um... I guess you could get them to bring you all the loose change on the ground for miles around. I guess there are actual uses in espionage, but I never really cared. I doubt I will pick up this book.

Captain Marvel #1 - I'm glad that Carol Danvers is getting her due as Marvel's elite super heroine. However, I haven't read any of her books so far. Not sure if I will start here, either.

Carnage #1 - I don't get the point of this one. Is Carnage still a serial killing monster or are they trying to make him a hero now? Either way, I'm not sure it will work as an ongoing series.

Contest of Champions #1 - Place your bets now about how long this book will last! If the writer's are smart, there will be an end point, like with Avengers Arena. This is not a premise that will last long.

Daredevil #1 - I might flip through this book. I loved the Netflix series (who didn't?) and am curious if Marvel will try to make the comic more like the show. I think Daredevil is in serious need of new villains, good new villains. Most of his villains are lame. They can't just keep going back to Kingpin and Bullseye. Like I said, I will give it a once over, but I'm not expecting much.

Deadpool #1 - I like Deadpool and as such will probably get this book. The writers, however, have big shoes to fill. The previous volume's writing team, including comedian Brian Posehn, made a really good run full of hilarity, some genius moments (the various "lost" throwback issues of Daredevil from decades past), and a great supporting crew including ghost Ben Franklin.

Doctor Strange #1 - Maybe the film will give me new appreciation for the Sorceror Supreme, but it won't be in time for me to start reading this book.

Drax #1 - I will check this book out for one reason... former WWE star CM Punk is co-writing. It doesn't guarantee that the book will be any good, but like with any celebrity writer, it's worth a look.

Extraordinary X-Men #1 - Good news... in addition to being Uncanny, All-New, All-Different, Extreme and Astonishing, the X-men are also Extraordinary. It has an interesting line-up with Colossus, Iceman, Jean Grey (from the past), Nightcrawler (whom I thought was dead), Magik, Storm and Old Man Logan... because Marvel is really serious about Wolverine staying dead. Will Jean Grey discuss with the Iceman of the present about how his past version is gay? Only time will tell. I might glance at this book, but I'm not expecting anything "extraordinary." (see what I did there? I'm clever.)

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 - I was reading the previous run and loved the Abnett/Lanning run that has inspired a new age for Marvel's space universe and renewed love for many forgotten characters. (Ten years ago, did you think you would see a movie starring Star-Lord? Did you even know who the hell Star-Lord was? My point exactly.) Brian Michael Bendis is still writing this new volume, but I guess now Rocket Raccoon is the leader and Thing is the new pilot. And Star-Lord is a woman. I'm game, why not?

Hawkeye #1 - The only time I ever read a Hawkeye book was when he led The Thunderbolts way back when. I'm okay with leaving it that way. If I need my bow and arrow fix, CW's got me covered.

Howard the Duck #1 - Um... no.

Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 - This one will be among the first wave of cancellations, mark my words. Unless they go back in time to fight Nazis with the real Howling Commandos... that I would check out.

Illuminati #1 - What is the purpose of a book about the elitist secret club of Marvel? Do they fight as a team? Are they a team? Do I care? I can answer one of those questions.

Invincible Iron Man #1 - I might glance at this book. Here's the thing, I love the movie version of Tony Stark, because Robert Downey Jr. gives the character a great deal of wit and fast comedic timing, because if not for those, let's be honest, we would all think Tony Stark was a self-righteous prick. Well, the Tony Stark of the comics, even after the debut of the first Iron Man movie, is a self-righteous prick. However, I did enjoy Tony Stark during his brief tenure with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Why? Because Brian Michael Bendis writes Tony as witty and fun. So, since he's writing this book, I will give it a look.

Karnak #1 - The only reason I'm going to check out this book is because Warren Ellis is the writer. I expect I'm not the only one who shares that sentiment.

The Mighty Thor #1 - Is this still Jane Foster Thor? That's cool. I didn't read her book before Secret Wars, why mess with success?

Ms. Marvel #1 - I missed the boat on this book. I've heard great things and will probably check out trades of the previous volume. As such, I might thumb through this new volume.

New Avengers #1 - Not sure why they didn't just call this A.I.M.: Avengers Idea Mechanics. This line-up is crazy. The team is led by Sunspot and features Wiccan, Hulkling, Squirrel-girl, Hawkeye, Power Man, White Tiger and Songbird. I may have to check this book out based on the line-up alone. However, I am not confident on this book's success.

Nova #1 - I love Nova. I was a fan of Richard Ryder. I came to love Sam Alexander was well. The cover of this new book shows Sam in his Black Nova get-up with an adult dressed in classic Nova Corp attire. My question is... is that adult Sam's dad or Ryder back from the dead? (Really hoping for the latter.) This is one book I will be picking up.

Old Man Logan #1 - So what, is Old Man Logan now in the 616 Marvel universe? Do I care? Not really.

Sam Wilson, Captain America #1 - I'll be honest, the only time I ever gave a shit about Falcon was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I don't really get why he is Captain America. Does he have the Super Soldier Serum? Otherwise he's Falcon with a shield. I'm still not really giving a shit.

Silk #1 - I know nothing about this character except she is somehow connected to the "Spider-verse" which I guess is a thing now. Is their also a Hawkeye-verse and a Paste-Pot Pete-verse?

Scarlet Witch #1 - I've never been a big Scarlet Witch fan, so... yeah.

Spider-Gwen #1 - She's got a following, but I've never read anything about the alternate reality Gwen that got powers. It's still part of the Spider-verse. I want to read a book about the Groot-verse!

Spider-Man #1 - I think it's cool that Miles Morales will be the main Spider-man after Secret Wars. He's a great character that allows Marvel to explore Spider-man in high school again without resorting to deals with Mephisto or de-aging Peter Parker. Best of all, Miles' creator, Brain Michael Bendis, is writing the book. I might check this book out... partly to know how Miles came to be in the 616 universe when Parker is still alive (unless he's the same from the Ultimate universe and just "displaced"). I'm not always on board with Bendis, but he does to Spider-man really well.

Spider-Man 2099 #1 - Way back in the day I actually had a subscription of Spider-man 2099 mailed to my house (the town I was raised in was without a comic shop of it's own). The book was only okay, primarily for a lack of great, memorable villains. I mean, Spider-man has the best rogues gallery of any hero in the Marvel universe, yet his counter-part from a hundred years in the future really didn't have many to speak of. I'm actually having a tough time remembering any beyond 2099 versions of Vulture and Venom. There was a cyborg bounty hunter whose name escapes me and some guy named Thanatos that looked like a Roman gladiator (no, his skin wasn't purple, I don't think he had anything to do with that Thanos). I think the new book takes place in the 616 universe, so I guess he can borrow current Spider-man villains. I doubt I'll read the book... I might flip through it out of curiosity. I like his costume at least.

Spider-Woman #1 - Never cared for Spider-woman. I'll pass.

Squadron Supreme #1 - I might check this one out. It could be interesting... or it could be a waste of time. It's a real toss-up.

Star-Lord #1 - Why is Star-Lord a woman? I thought I saw cover art that showed the character with a feminine body. But then I saw another where he was wearing his trademark mask while wearing an astronaut outfit and a "Quill" name badge... so I have no idea what is going on. I might flip through the book to see if they answer it, but I doubt I'll care enough to buy the comic.

The Totally Awesome Hulk #1 - Is the Hulk "totally awesome" now? He has been Incredible and Invincible and... red. Why is he awesome? I guess he may be someone other than Bruce Banner. After Red Hulk, Skaar, A-Bomb, She-Hulk and Red She-Hulk, that's just what we needed. As long as he's "totally awesome."

Web Warriors #1 - So it's another book based on the Spider-verse, but this time loosely affiliated with a cartoon? I don't get it.

Ultimates #1 - So it's a book with nothing to do with the Ultimate universe. It's just an Avengers book under a different name. It has Black Panther, the current Captain Marvel, the past Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) as Spectrum, and Blue Marvel... a character that a month ago I had never heard of. Might glance at it, but I am doubtful I'll buy it. 

Uncanny Avengers #1 - So this book is kind of odd for me. Initially, I loved the book. It fulfilled that craving I had for super teams fighting massive threats, first with the Red Skull, then against the Apocalypse Twins. Then, the book got weird. Havok, one of my favorite X-men, got disfigured... like on a Two-Face level. Wolverine lost his healing factor and would soon be dead, Steve Rogers was old, Rogue had absorbed Wonder Man... then after the Red Onslaught storyline, the entire line-up changed (save for Scarlet Witch and Rogue). I wanted to like the new line-up. It had Quicksilver, whom I haven't read in a book since X-Factor and there was Sabretooth, seeking redemption. However, the team focused all of it's time fighting the High Evolutionary... a character I've never really cared for. Plus, we were treated to the old Avengers soap opera from back in the day that led to my hating the book and team... the bizarre love triangle (obligatory New Order reference) of Scarlet Witch, Vision and Wonder Man. Ugh... so stupid. This new book once again has a new line-up adding Spider-man, Human Torch, some new chick named Synapse and Deadpool. I will give the book another shot.

Uncanny Inhumans #1 - I've never been huge on the Inhumans. I like them as part of the overall Marvel universe, but not for their own stories and drama. I doubt I will get this book.

Uncanny X-Men #1- This is a book that intrigues me. It has Magneto leading a team with Psylocke, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth... with some other as yet to be revealed mutants. It's like a Brotherhood of Mutants team under the X-men banner. I will definitely check this one out.

Venom: Spaceknight #1 - I doubt this book will last. Despite the popularity of the character, a Venom-centric book has never been a big hit. I do like the reinvention of the character with host Flash Thompson. Instead of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, this is apparently continuing his space adventures since joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. But what's this "spacknight" thing? Is that like Rom the Spaceknight? It might be interesting, but I have my doubts about the book's future. I will give it a once-over however.

The Vision #1 - Remember how I said I was never a Scarlet Witch fan? The same applies to Vision. The two of them made an awful soap opera storyline for so long... I hated the Avengers for years because of them. 

So yeah. I will have some new Marvel comics to check out and will avoid DC like the plague.  Time will tell whether this will improve the Marvel Universe, or make it more convoluted, or have no effect at all. I'm just glad they haven't gone the New 52 route and rebooted everything. I think at that point I just would have been done with comics... except indies. Come to think of it, I should check out indie books more often. Valiant's been looking pretty good lately. 

Until next time, Stay Strange!

Hey! We Saw a Movie - Avengers: Age of Ultron

 Since I figure most people who were going to see Age of Ultron probably have by now... certainly the geek population at least, I won't really go into a plot summary. I'm also not going to worry about spoilers... so if you haven't seen the movie yet, don't read on or you will be BIG TIME SPOILED!

Bullet-point Observations

- Avengers: Age of Ultron was not as bad as I was worried it could have been. I probably had my expectations low enough and maybe Joss Whedon is talented enough as a writer and director to do an admirable job juggling an overstuffed script and movie... something most other writers would fail at. Compared to other superhero films that were too full of characters and plot points, like X-men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Spider-man 3 and Amazing Spider-man 2, Avengers: Age of Ultron does a better job than any of them. That said, there was still too much going on and too many characters crammed into the film.

- I don't blame Joss Whedon for how overstuffed the film was. Marvel was clearly trying to make a bunch of new Avengers to take some of the weight off of their bigger stars whose contracts are running out soon as well as advance the plot for the Infinity War movies. Unfortunately, that did confirm what I was worried about in that Age of Ultron was more of a stepping stone at times than it's own entity. I will give Whedon some credit in that he tried to give a good chunk of screen time to each character, which could not have been easy.

- Note to Marvel Films: STOP KILLING OFF YOUR VILLAINS! Iron Monger, Whiplash, Red Skull (as far as we know), whoever the hell Guy Pearce was supposed to be, Malekith, Kurse, Ronan the Accuser, Baron Strucker and Ultron! You know, some of these guys could be useful in the future... and then there's that whole adage about superheroes not killing (though to be fair only four of those deaths were inflicted by good guys... maybe Iron Monger too... that's debatable.)

Why the hell was Baron Strucker even in the film? He did nothing and brought nothing to the table. The end of Captain America: Winter Soldier made him seem like big shit and he did nothing at all... then was killed off-screen. I mean, Baron Strucker was never a top-tier villain, but he was a solid second tier at times. Hell, the guy in charge of Hydra has to be of some worth, right?

- Why didn't Ultron use the vibranium to make himself an updated body. Yes, I know that Vision had a hybrid of the Korean scientist's artificial flesh and vibranium, but that seemed more like a special experimental project he was doing. Why didn't he right away make an updated form with a steel and vibranium alloy to ensure his success should anything go wrong. That's the thing here, Ultron is supposed to be Marvel's analog to "the singularity" where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and more or less takes over the world. Ultron should have had multiple plans in place with contingencies in place. Yes, I know the Avengers needed to win in the end, but don't try to make a realistic interpretation of AI run amok and skimp on the reality of it.

- Ultron wasn't quite right. I know Ultron from the comics, he is a cold, relentless machine bent on killing human life. This Ultron was a smooth talking, suave, gentlemanly villain... a witty manipulator. I get that part of his personality was based on Tony Stark's and therefore he would be a suave smart-ass, but he seemed less like Ultron and more like a robotic Lex Luthor!

- I want to be the first to predict it: Ultron will turn out to be a better Lex Luthor than Jesse Eisenberg!

- Could Ultron's plan have been anymore outlandish, random and convoluted? He wants to bring about peace by destroying mankind... sort of. He wants to cause a cataclysm that will wipe out most of humankind and force evolution... except that's not how it works. Evidence suggests that the dinosaurs were not wiped out immediately by the KT impact, but gradually over a few thousand years. If Ultron's logic was that peace can be attained by machines that are programmed to live harmoniously, I could buy that, but his plan was about forcing evolution... which would never bring about peace. Ask the Cro-Magnons who were most likely killed off by the Neanderthals, who were most likely killed off by Homo Sapiens. Strangely, Ultron's goal was more in line with something Apocalypse might do in creating a condition where only the strongest can survive.

- And in the middle of all that, Ultron had some weird fixation on making a robotic fleshed upgrade to himself that eventually became Vision... that whole thing felt forced into the script for the sole purpose of creating Vision and not a natural plotline. Many things felt forced in Age of Ultron.

- BIG TIME SPOILER - I am still a little surprised that they killed Quicksilver. I know why he was killed... Joss Whedon loves consequences for characters. I once saw a Q & A with him where he said (*and I'm paraphrasing because this was about ten years ago*) "In war, people die, that's what happens. It gives gravity to the situation. It can't just be clones versus robots." Regardless, Quicksilver was a major Avenger character that now, barring some unforeseen resurrection by ways of his magic sister or a certain gem covered glove, we will never have the luxury of watching develop.

- That being said, if one had to die, Scarlet Witch was always the bigger Avenger character anyway. Pietro wasn't always the best team player and he often would run off (pun possibly intended) to do other wacky things like join X-Factor or The Knights of Wundagore. Besides, we need the awkwardness of Scarlet Witch and Vision hooking up.

- In speaking of awkward, I guess this settles the debate about whether the movie versions of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's will have the "extremely close" relationship from Ultimates.

- So in the debate of which Quicksilver was better, I think it goes to Evan Peters from Days of Future Past. His was fun and more memorable with arguably the best sequence in the film. Aaron Johnson's was probably truer to the Pietro Maximoff of the comics, a brooding cocky prick that grows on you, but having to share time in a massive ensemble film (that did not have the luxury of half the cast set decades into the future to make the film seem less crowded) and given that he died without being little more than a fun side character, the Quicksilver of Age of Ultron just wasn't as good. Plus, there was that fake accent.

- If Ultron is a super smart AI computer, then he would have had to know that an impact of the level that he was creating (with the chunk of Sokovia acting as a makeshift meteorite with a vibranium core) would have created a massibe electro-magnetic pulse that would have fried every version of himself in the vicinity. He would have certainly had to have had a back-up of himself somewhere else to ensure his survival... which is exactly what the comic book version does... which is why he is pretty much impossible to kill. Meaning... Ultron could probably return in a future film... though I doubt he will. There are too many villains and storylines and not that many movies for them to appear.

- I'm hoping the next Avengers films (Infinity War parts 1 & 2) will not follow this same formula of a single big villain with a generic army that threatens the Earth. In that way, Avengers 2 felt a lot like the first one... just replace aliens with robots. I would have preferred a villain team like The Masters of Evil. That way, instead of bland generic minions that we all know pose no threat to our heroes, the Avengers can face named villains with unique powers.

- I was really disappointed with the mid-credits scene. Once again we see Thanos and he has a gem-less gauntlet. Whoopee. And where the hell was my shwarma scene? I sat through the entire end credits for NOTHING! Captain America: Winter Soldier had a shwarma scene... so did Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy! In fact, most of the Marvel films have had shwarma scenes. What the hell Avengers 2?!?!

Final Thoughts: In the end, Avengers: Age of Ultron was entertaining enough to watch, but isn't anything near as special as the hype would have you believe. I'll put it this way... Avengers was something special. It was a culmination of several movies with big actors in one big super superhero movie that told it's own self-contained story with only subtle hints toward future films. Avengers: Age of Ultron was just a popcorn flick.

Toaster's Ramblings - Avengers: Age of Anxiety!

We are now less than 2 months from what is arguably the second most anticipated film of the year (some might debate that with Star Wars Episode 7). I am excited of course. I am a total geek, have seen every Marvel movie is theaters to date (note that by this I mean Marvel Studios, I skipped Elektra because it looked terrible). So there is that anxious 'waiting for Christmas' type of feeling waiting for May 1st.

That said, I am worried about Age of Ultron. I touched upon this briefly a couple of months ago, but I thought I would go into it a bit more. I am afraid there will be too much going on and too little time to do it in. Plus it seems to build into the "phase 3" of the Marvel movie-verse master plan. That doesn't sound too bad right there, but when you expand the details, the task seems pretty daunting.

First, you have a ton of new characters to introduce. So far it seems we have Baron Strucker, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Ulysses Klaw (the character Andy Serkis is rumored to be playing), Vision, some random mystery characters from the trailers (the disrobing woman in the caand of course Ultron. Now not every character here needs much of a time investment. I figure Klaw will be a brief cameo. Strucker will likely get the Batroc treatment from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as in he's a big deal for the first fifteen minutes of the film. However, the rest need some real time to explain and develop. Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Vision will probably all become prominent Avengers (based on the comics). Vision will need an entire origin story along with Ultron!

Second, let's get into Ultron for a bit. Ultron is completely new to the film universe. In the first Avengers movie, Loki already had been introduced in Thor and established as a bad guy. This allowed less time to be spent on explaining him and more on the formation of the Avengers team. This luxury is not afforded to Ultron. We not only have to establish who he is but where he comes from and why he's a threat worthy of an entire team on heroes. Also, consider this... in the first Avengers movie, Joss Whedon really nailed the Loki character. It established him as a true super villain, something that Marvel films had been and continue to lack. In order for Ultron not to seem like a flash in the pan baddie (like Whiplash, Red Skull, Malekith or Ronan), we need some real time invested into him, with major scenes and huge moments that make him memorable.

Third, you still have six established Avengers team to spend time with. Obviously, Iron Man will get his spotlight in the overall story, but Captain America and Thor have to have their screen time. Plus, you still have Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, who received the weakest amount of screen time in the first Avengers and... aside from a cameo in the first Thor movie, has never been in any other film. So, not only do you have the six established heroes slugging it out for screen time, but from the trailer we also see Iron Patriot, Agent Hill and Nick Fury all show up at some point. So that's at least nine established characters returning for the sequel and six new ones!

Can you see what makes me a little weary? Put it this way, both Spider-man 3 and the Amazing Spider-man 2 were criticized with being too cluttered with old and new characters that sacrificed the overall story. Spider-man 3 only had three new characters (Sandman, Venom and Gwen Stacy) to add to the established Spider-man, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn (not including cameos from Aunt May and J Jonah Jameson). Excluding cameos, Amazing Spider-man 2 had to add Electro, Rhino, Norman Osborn and Green Goblin to the story that already had Spider-man, Gwen Stacy, Peter's dad and Aunt May.

Fourth, Age of Ultron seems to be trying very hard to create new movie franchises during it's run time. If the rumors are to be believed, many new characters might be featured as cameos to help try to fill out the Marvel Films universe before Civil War and to promote new franchises like Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Dr. Strange. The fatal flaw of Amazing Spider-man 2 was the fact that Sony was clearly more interested in pushing their Spider-man movie-verse agenda than actually telling a compelling and interesting story. There are ways to insert new characters in a brief manner that will pique the audience's interest. The trick is to use fine brush strokes. You can't be forceful, or else it stops being 'fan service' and just becomes obvious desperation. If Avengers 2 becomes too crowded and jumbled with introducing new characters, cameo or otherwise, it will suffer the same fate as Amazing Spider-man 2.

Fifth, Avengers 2 is clearly a transitional sequel. By this, I mean that the movie is being used to build the next part of the story. Usually, transitional sequels tend to... not be very good. Look at Matrix: Reloaded. Now, quickly look away lest your eyes burn! While the first Matrix film was a stand-alone story, Reloaded was a mess, an obvious cash grab with a plot that I still don't completely understand. Now compare that to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. 'Empire' was a transitional sequel, but an excellent one that focused on character development and told a compelling story. Yes, it paved the way for Return of the Jedi, but unlike Reloaded, it left it's mark... more memorably that 'Jedi' did to be honest.

The first Avengers was a stand-alone film. It had it's own self-contained story that felt like a true culmination of all of the preceding films into a massive end-all-be-all over-the-top climactic battle. Avengers 2 is clearly building toward Captain America: Civil War, which worryingly has been building more hype as of late than Age of Ultron, a film that hasn't even been released yet!

To be fair, I have a lot of faith in Joss Whedon. Not only does his television biography speak for itself, but he made the first Avengers work on a huge level, making it the first superhero super-film. I hope that he has crafted a good story that gives the proper attention to the veteran Avengers while helping establish Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision and Ultron in the process. I hope the any other character cameos are kept reasonable and brief. Based on the trailers, it seems like Age of Ultron has that Empire Strikes Back feel to it... characters forced to face their shortcomings, a splintering of the group and high prices to pay for fighting the 'good fight.' Such themes have made for some of the greatest sequels of all time, such as the previously referenced Episode V, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, The Dark Knight and even Godfather II (though that last one wasn't exactly about fighting for the angels).

Hopefully Age of Ultron will be Joss Whedon's 'The Empire Strikes Back' and not another disappointing ill-conceived cash-grab sequel.

F'N Toaster's Movies of 2013 Review-a-rama-thon Spectacu-Palooza-Mania 2000 (+ 13) ... Part 1

Jonny Prophet and I see a lot of movies and during the summer season, when the biggest are rolled out, we tend to see even more. This summer we saw 14 and I saw an additional flick with TivoGirl. I figured I would reviews all 15 of those movies in a series of 3 parts. So in order of which they were seen, here is the F'N Toaster's Movies of 2013 Review-a-rama-thon Spectacu-Looza-Mania 2000 (+ 13)   

Iron Man 3 – I am a bit torn on this movie. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I did like the Extremis soldiers could be effective villains to face a guy in a super robot suit, which is usually said bad guy in a robot suit of his own. I also liked that Tony Stark had to defend himself without the use of his armor for a good chuck of the movie. But there was so much about the film that didn’t make sense. Why was Iron Patriot in the movie? That particular armor had no purpose in the film; I suspect its inclusion was more to sell merchandise and act as a red herring of sorts for the big twist. And what was the big twist? That the dreaded Mandarin, Iron Man’s greatest comic book foe, was just some nobody actor. The real “Mandarin” (or Man Darin as he was known in China) was Killian Aldrich. As I said before, someone else could take up the mantle of the Mandarin… but I doubt anyone will in these films. The writers apparently couldn’t figure out how to make it work. Sometimes I really think certain script writers for comic book movies just don’t ‘get it.’ It would explain problems in movies like Hellboy, Jonah Hex and X-Men 3. I didn’t get why Tony Stark would invite a terrorist to attack him at his home, but not have a plan and actually be surprised when they show up and blow his place to kingdom come. I don’t get why he didn’t engage those terrorists as Iron Man or why he just didn’t send his army of remote control robot suits after the copters. Also, why didn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. do anything to help Stark, given his working relationship with them and the fact that taking down terrorist organizations (like Hydra) is something that S.H.I.E.L.D. does?  I didn’t understand the need to have Tony pal around with some kid midway through the flick. And Jonny and I really didn’t get his need to blow up all of his billions of dollars worth of suits at the end. Why? Was there no more evil in the world to fight? Did Tony forget to bring fireworks to impress Pepper so he had to improvise? It’s not like he really needed the gesture to save his relationship with her. She said earlier that she understands why he doesn’t want to give up the armor. Then Stark basically implies that he will just build new armor anyways. What was the point? Damn it, Tony, this is why we can’t have nice things!  

Star Trek: Into Darkness – I can understand some of the hatred of this movie but I also think people may be a little too hard on it. Recently there was some poll of Star Trek fans that revealed the movie non-Star Trek movie Galaxy Quest was a better Star Trek movie than Star Trek: Into Darkness. That’s kind of funny, but it should be noted that every crappy pre-Abrams Star Trek film (i.e. Final Frontier and Insurrection) is still a lot worse than Into Darkness. That said, Into Darkness isn’t really a Star Trek film. By this I mean that every Star Trek movie, no matter how awful, dabbled into the realms of science fiction concepts and creativity. The original Trek movie was boring as sin, but the V-GER concept was really interesting. Final Frontier was terrible, but the idea of an advanced being posing as God warrants some merit. Into Darkness was just a sci-fi action movie that really offered nothing interesting to the world of science fiction or the collective imaginative works of the franchise. (The most imaginative part came at the very beginning with the volcano on the alien planet.) To put it another way, Into Darkness is to Wrath of Khan what Aliens was to Alien. However, as an action movie it is pretty entertaining. The fight with the Klingons was cool, the battle with the U.S.S. Vengeance was awesome and the final brawl between Spock and Khan was fun. But in some ways the movie felt more like fan fiction than an actual Star Trek film. The inclusion of Khan, the plot being one of revenge, fighting Klingons (for no real reason), the U.S.S. Vengeance being a huge black looking Enterprise, Leonard Nemoy appearing (again), Spock yelling out “KHAN!” in the reversal from Wrath of Khan and even Khan’s blood being able to miraculously revive dead Kirk screams fan service. Abrams’ first Star Trek movie was criticized as being too much like an action movie, but even that has interesting concepts like time travel, divergent realities, red matter, the destruction of Vulcan and the near genocide of its people. After two viewings of Into Darkness I saw nothing that really enhances the Star Trek mythos. But, after two viewings, I still came away entertained and I will buy the movie on Blu-Ray (or put it on my Christmas list). So, like I said, it’s a mixed bag.

Fast & Furious 6 – Did you like the other Fast and the Furious movies? Then you’ll like this one. It’s a big, loud, dumb movie but if you turn off your brain it’s also a lot of fun. I always have low expectations heading into a Fast and Furious flick… I need to see fast cars, fighting, guns and at least one explosion. This one had all of those as well as the world’s longest runway… which is estimated to be over 20 miles long! Sure there were some ridiculously impossible moments, such as when Vin Diesel launched himself off the hood of a car to catch a freefalling Michelle Rodriguez in mid-air over a massive gap between freeway bridges and they both land safely on the hood/windshield of another car. But the previous film, Fast Five, taught Jonny Prophet and I a valuable lesson… all things are possible through “Vin Diesel’s Love.” How did Vin Diesel emerge unscathed from a massive explosion? Vin Diesel’s Love. In Fast Five how did The Rock, who was sent to apprehend the F&F crew, become their ally instead? Why it was the of gesture of Vin Diesel reaching down to pick him up after drug lords killed his squad, something we like to call… Vin Diesel’s Love! When you learn to accept Vin Diesel’s Love, you become less focused on the impossible and enjoy the movie more. (A similar practice works for Die Hard films. How did he do that? Because he’s John McClane!) Gina Carano was in this one and it is always a thrill to watch her in action. Even better though, one of the baddies working Luke Evans’ terrorist guy was in The Raid: Redemption. Jonny and I would have been pissed if there hadn’t been a scene where he got to display his insane martial arts abilities. Thankfully we weren’t disappointed as he kicked the crap out of Han and Vin Diesel’s replacement from 2 Fast 2 Furious! Of course this movie sets up part 7 (yes, there have been that many movies of all this) which follows part 3 (Tokyo Drift), finally putting all this into some order. We had hoped that Tokyo Drift had just been retconned out so Han might live (whenever Han spoke about going back to Japan, Jonny and I pleaded with the screen “No Han! We know what happens there!”). But it will be cool to have Jason Statham as the bad guy and brother to Luke Evans’ character from part 6. We’re sure Vin Diesel’s love will prevail in the end.

Now You See Me – I enjoyed this movie for a number of reasons. It was smart, clever and pretty original… especially in a Hollywood climate of sequels and remakes. It also had a great cast with well thought out characters. There was humor throughout as well as great scenes of action and tension. But then there’s the matter of plausibility. I can turn my brain off for dumb action like “Vin Diesel’s Love,” but this is an intelligent film meant to make you think and second guess your own theories and predictions. It was well written, but certain problems emerge when you stop to think about the overall plot. (Beware, I will spoil the crap out of this if you haven’t seen it!) In the film we learn that the Las Vegas magician ensemble, “The Four Horsemen,” went to France in a very elaborate scheme to seemingly rob a bank from Vegas. To do this, they had to find a Frenchman who had an account with the bank and then give him a series of mental suggestions to convince him to take a vacation in Las Vegas and to attend their show. Problem number one… there’s a lot of suspension of belief there that they could plant the suggestion into this man’s head to take a very expensive trip abroad… essentially on a whim. Imagine the number of X-factors that could have screwed up this plan. What if a loved one was sick and he couldn’t leave? What if he chose to vacation in Europe instead or not at all to save money?  How did they track this guy to ensure that he got on the plane, stayed in Vegas and attended the show? Another part I had an issue with was when they screwed over Michael Caine, who was playing a wealthy owner of an insurance company. At a show in New Orleans, it was revealed that the Four Horsemen had depleted Caine’s millions in savings. They then unveiled that the audience was comprised of victims of Hurricane Katrina, that they had all been denied claims by Caine’s insurance firm and that all of his money had mysteriously ended up in their bank accounts. Problem number two… so they tracked down every one of these victims and gave them free tickets? Okay, I guess that’s somewhat plausible. But that moment of joy from knowing the rich jerk got ripped off and the victims were rewarded? Yeah, that would be pretty short lived. You see, the authorities would make sure all of that cash was returned to Caine. It is all traceable as it was electronically transferred. Plus, that money was Caine’s own private savings, not the funds of the insurance company… so that’s just plain theft. Any Katrina victims who tried to keep it could go to prison. In the end, that entire scheme against Caine’s character would really just end up a minor inconvenience. The biggest gripe I have with the film is when we learn in the end that Mark Ruffalo’s character, the main antagonist of the movie as an FBI agent trying to bust the Four Horsemen, was also the man behind the whole thing. He had a vendetta against several people who screwed over his father, a magician who tragically died years ago, so he put together a group of four talents from the world of magic to aid in his revenge, without revealing himself to them. But before this, Ruffalo joined the FBI to so that he would be at the center of the action… assumingly to ensure success. Problem number three... it isn’t exactly easy to get into the FBI. There is rigorous training and testing along with a lifetime of commitment to police and detective work to become an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. It was implied Ruffalo’s character was a master of mental manipulation, so maybe he could have given “suggestions” to his superiors to promote him as necessary and even assign him to the Las Vegas branch. But that is a really big if. There are more little problems here and there, but a lot of those implausibilites are just the nature of the kind of movie Now You See Me is. Any movie about illusions and grifting will have shortcomings and unrealistic plot points. Maybe I am just being too critical here. I did like the movie. I found it pretty entertaining. In the end, it just left me trying to justify a little too much to myself.

This Is the End – I really don’t have much to say concerning this movie. I thought it was hilarious, it was extremely raunchy and a lot of fun to watch. Michael Cera, for what few scenes he was in, absolutely stole his scenes. There were tons of great cameos including a surprise one at the end that became one of the greatest jokes of the entire movie (that is something I won’t spoil). There were surprisingly good special effects for a movie about selfish, ignorant celebrities getting high and trying to survive the apocalypse. It’s definitely not for kids, but if you were a fan of The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad and Pineapple Express, you will like this one. I can’t wait for Pineapple Express 2!

Coming soon will be part 2 of F'N Toaster's Movies of 2013 Review-a-rama-thon Spectacu-Palooza-Mania 2000 (+ 13)

Toaster's Ramblings - San Diego Comic Con Edition

So the San Diego Comic Con has ended. What was once an actual convention involving comic books has now become little more than a pop culture drive-by shooting. Its like Cannes for geeks, except instead of showing films, we get clips and Q & A panels. Once upon a time Jonny Prophet and I wanted to attend SDCC, but now it seems like a clusterfuck... nothing but crowds and lines and the desperation to be part of something limited to a few hundred seats or a few thousand exclusive copies. Not really our cup of tea.

As with any SDCC season, we are left with lots of news and trailers and such. I figured I would touch on a few tidbits and highlights that stuck out to me this year.

- Bryan Cranston is a freakin' genius! He attends the convention dressed as his character Breaking Bad Walter White! Nobody is going to expect the guy wearing the Bryan Cranston mask to actually be Bryan Cranston! But now that this trick was revealed, I just fret that future attendees doing cosplay might be assaulted by ravenous fans. Remember, just because he's wearing the Spider-man outfit doesn't mean its actually Spider-man.

- In speaking of Spider-man, Fox is just pumping out those films, aren't they? As long as they are as good as Amazing Spider-man, I'm okay with them squeezing out every last drop of life before they lose the franchise to "the Mouse."

- I call bullshit on Hasbro releasing the first of their 6 inch Star Wars figures (something I have wanted for years) as a SDCC exclusive. I call even bigger bullshit that its Boba Fett! WTF?! Okay, sure they said Fett would be re-released in the exact same colors in Wave 2 of the actual set, but come on! Plus, I doubt that one will have Han Solo in carbonite! Now I just have to wait for Wave 2 and not give into the temptation to drop a hundred or more on the exclusive. (I'm not that strong, dammit!)

- DC comics is apparently dropping 4 comic lines from its 52 line-up. They claim to be unable to support that many lines at once (Jonny and I think that number to be a lot lower... like around 30, but nevertheless). So now they can't be the New 52 anymore. Now what do I call them? How about the "Oh, Great... 48"? I think it can catch on.

- So the Thanos clip at the end of Avengers was for Guardians of the Galaxy? I guess that's cool. Kind of an odd cast. We have buff Andy Dwyer as Star-Lord, Batista as green Batista... I mean Drax the Destroyer. (Oh, Mr. Bautista? I'm sorry, Drax might be able to take Thor, but no way he can beat Hulk. Not gonna happen.) Michael "Merle Dixon" Rooker as Yondu? Yondu was part of the future GotG team! Lee Pace, the pie maker from Pushing Daisies, is Ronan the Accuser? That's just weird to me. Benicio Del Toro is awesome, but I don't know about him as the Collector. The whole time I'll have "flashbacks" to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. (As your attorney I advise you to take a hit out of the little brown bottle in my suitcase.) Zoe Saldana as Gamora is probably the best casting I have heard for the flick.  

- So GotG is going to have the team itself along with Ronan the Accuser, another Kree Accuser (whose name I forget and don't feel like looking up), Nebula, The Collector and Thanos? I hope this doesn't get too bogged down. Hmmm. I wonder if Fox has the rights to the Shi'ar since they were affiliated with the X-men?

- BTW, Karen Gillan with a shaved head? Still hot.

- I'm cool with Avengers 2 being 'The Age of Ultron', but I've heard that Dr. Henry Pym is not Ultron's creator. Considering that Pym is getting his own movie soon (Ant Man) that's just stupid. Why not introduce him early on? Please don't tell me Tony Stark made Ultron. Iron Man does not have to be the center of the Avengers universe you know! Wait, do you think the dunce cap wearing robo-arm that Stark has evolves into the human hating Ultron all because Tony was an asshole to it? Now that would be karma!

- I'm glad that Warner Bros. is not releasing Justice League in 2015 like I had heard, but 2017 isn't that much better when (unless they plan to count the Green Lantern flop) Man of Steel is the first movie leading to it! And Superman vs Batman in Man of Steel 2? I'm not sure how that will work, both in making sure Batman doesn't come across as a villain and him actually fighting the most powerful man on Earth. It does seem desperate, though. Sad that the only DC Superhero movie currently planned between 2015's Man of Steel 2 and 2017's Justice League is The Flash. I guess Wonder Woman and Aquaman will have to pop up real quick in Justice League. I'm sure it won't take long to explain the Amazonian warrior princess demigod and the half Atlantean king in a 120 minute movie... just so long as there isn't a villain. (The first movie is about them becoming a team. You'll have to wait for the sequel for them to fight anyone.) 

- X-men: Days of Futures Past looks more and more like it will be a train wreck. Jonny and I both cringed at Right after Bryan Singer took over for First Class director Matthew Vaughn, he made Jonny and I cringe upon saying "Days of Futures Past is going to fix the problems with First Class." What problems, Bryan? Okay, there was a little bit of continuity problems like Alex "Havok" Summers being Cyclop's younger brother who was in the 60's before Scott was born or Emma Frost being an adult in the 60's and a kid in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But beyond those, First Class was the best of all the X-men films as far as Jonny and I are concerned. Honestly, Mr. Singer, I would be more concerned with fixing the problems of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Those movies had real problems.

And now I will leave you with this simple message from your lord and master... Loki.

All hail Loki.

Prophet and Toaster's Weird Heroclix Teams

So in this installment, I present an idea for a team that is composed of both Marvel and DC characters. Both comic book universes feature heroes and villains who run their own corporations and as such are extremely rich. So in a build that represents “the 1%” of the comic book industry, I present:

Big Business

So we begin with the hero who is probably most well known for having his own company, Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. There are a ton of Batman pieces in Heroclix, but I have narrowed it down to one of my favorites… the Justice League: New 52 Batman. First thing’s first, he comes with Indomitable. This is a must for this team as there isn’t a lot of permanent willpower to go around. For 119 points, he is a true force to be reckoned with. This Batman also features Outwit and Perplex at various points in his dial (both powers seem to be a running theme to this team). His movement powers start with Charge, continues with mid-dial Flurry and ends with 2 clicks of Running Shot. What I like best is that this Batman begins with a 17 Defense with a Special Power granting him both Toughness and Combat Reflexes which combined with the stealthy Batman Team Ability this Batman will be very tough to beat. 

(For one point more, if you have the piece, you could use the Arkham Asylum chase “Lamp-post” Batman. It is awesome and being a true chase, like 1 per several cases, 'The G-D Batman' (as Jonny calls the piece) is very pricey so not many will have it.)

The next piece to this Big Business team is also its powerhouse… Iron Man. I am going with the veteran version of Tony Stark’s “bodyguard” from the Marvel 10^th Anniversary set. This Iron Man is, in my opinion, the best available due to his vast variety of powers. First and foremost, he has Indomitable. He also has an 8 range with 2 targets, which will come in handy with Energy Explosion, Psychic Blast, a Special Power that grants Pulse Wave and Perplex and another that gives him Outwit and the Sharpshooter ability. Combine that with serious damage reducers and Running Shot, this Iron Man is easily going to take a bite out of the opposition.

Now we move on to the most well known villain to run his own company… Lex Luthor. There are several Luthors to choose from and I had a hard time deciding on the right one. I considered the one from the old Justice League set, which is decent but expensive by modern standards. I also considered the Robot Suit Luthor from DC 10^th Anniversary, but I figured with Iron Man being a better robo-suit guy, I would go more basic and support oriented. In the end, to keep the total build under 1000 points, I went with the Fast Forces Superman Luthor. He’s simple, but brings a lot to the force. Stealth helps him stay in the shadows while providing Enhancement, then Perplex. His last two clicks have a combination of Charge and Exploit Weakness with Willpower, for when “shit gets real.”

So we move from one mad scientist CEO to another with Dr. Sivana, the arch-nemesis of Captain Marvel or as he is now known… Shazam! Sivana was at one point the CEO of Sivana Industries, but I am unsure if he runs a company in the New 52 reboot. However, this piece represents him from the previous continuity as a creepy, evil, gangly old man. The only Heroclix appearance he has made was in Crisis, but it is a vicious piece. In addition to Perplex and Outwit, Dr. Sivana has a Special Power that grants Barrier, Energy Explosion, Phasing/Teleport, Psychic Blast, Pulse Wave, Quake, Smoke Cloud, and Support. So anything he needs to bring to the fight, he pretty much has.

Next is Marvel’s apparent version of Lex Luthor, Norman Osborn. Rather than doing the Alter Ego thing, I decided to just go with a Green Goblin. Despite the 2 clicks of Earthbound in the middle of its dial, I went with the Marvel 10^th Anniversary veteran version. Why? Because that Green Goblin has a Special Power that gives him Energy Explosion with penetration damage. Using that with his 5 range and 2 targets, that is a Goblin that can do some serious damage! Plus, he has Outwit, Perplex and Blades/Claws/Fangs at various points on his dial. He should definitely be effective.

Changing gears a tad, we move on the boss of Kord Industries, Ted Kord AKA the Blue Beetle (the dead one). I don’t really get why DC decided not to resurrect Ted for the New 52 since it seemed like they regretted killing him off, but whatever. He lives on in Heroclix! This version, again from the DC 10^th Anniversary set (I seem to go to this and Marvel’s 10^th a lot, don’t I?), is only 55 points. However, this Beetle brings some serious hurt to the table. He has a 7 range with 3 targets, the Sharpshooter ability and Energy Explosion! So he can mess up a whole bunched together group of enemies, even when adjacent! 

In speaking of sharpshooters, we can’t forget the man behind Queen Industries, Oliver Queen… the Green Arrow. I am torn between the Crisis version and the Justice League: New 52 one. I lean toward the latter because the New 52 version is 95 points and offers more. For one thing, the Sharpshooter ability didn’t exist back in the Crisis era. (Honestly, if you use the Crisis Green Arrow, you will probably want to drop an additional 20 points on the Elite Sniper feat, pushing his cost 29 points over the New 52 version.) The New 52 Ollie starts out mobile with Running Shot, a 7 range, 3 targets and the choice of Energy Explosion or Ranged Combat Expert. On the back end of his dial, he becomes a sniper with Stealth and a Special Power to make a second free ranged attack on a single target. With all the Perplex on this team, Green Arrow could make for a serious threat.

Of course, we can’t forget the self-made billionaire from the Watchmen, Ozymanias. For this piece, I go straight from the Watchmen boxed set. At 83 points, Adrian Veidt doesn’t bring a lot to the fight in terms of offense, but this super-genius does have a Special Power allowing for up to two uses of Outwit! Either have him hang back to weaken your opponents (and be possible Mastermind fodder) or use his Leap/Climb to get into an enemy’s face and tie him up. Plus, the Watchmen team ability should be very useful to your wildcards.

Lastly, we have one of the richest mutants in all of Marvel, Warren Worthington III AKA the “high flying” Angel. For this piece, I decided to go cheap. I went with the 50 point rookie from Giant Size X-Men. Yes, I could have gone with the lethal Archangel, but I kind of wanted to focus on happier times when Warren was more of a playboy thrill-seeker than a brooding weapon of death. Plus, 50 points helps keep the cost down. For 50 points you get a cheap “taxi” to take your less mobile fighters in or out of battle. Plus his Special Power of not halving your Charge speed, with a boost from someone’s Perplex, can go a long way toward making Angel an overlooked threat. The healing powers of the X-men team ability also will aid your wildcards.

We now go to a lesser known corporate millionaire, Danny Rand AKA Iron Fist. Secret Invasion gave us an awesome 70 point piece of this super martial artist chock full of devastating powers like Exploit Weakness, Flurry, Close Combat Expert backed with

Combat Reflexes, Willpower and Leap/Climb. Perhaps the ultimate tie-up and beat-down Heroclix piece, do not underestimate this Iron Fist; he is built to destroy opponents twice his cost!

So the Big Business build looks like this:

Batman (JL52)             – 119

Iron Man (M10A)         - 225

Lex Luthor (FF:SM)      – 50

Dr. Sivana (CR)           – 111

Green Goblin (M10A) – 117

Blue Beetle (D10A)       - 55

Green Arrow (JL52)      – 95

Ozymandias (WM)        – 83

Angel (GSX)                 – 50

Iron Fist (SI)                  - 70

-----------------------------------

Total: 975 (out of 1000)

That leaves 25 points for feats or relics. If using feats, I would recommend using Armor Piercing on either Green Arrow or Blue Beetle to take advantage of their Energy Explosion with three targets. Now I have not had a chance to play this team yet, but I can see that it would be a formidable group full of Outwit and Perplex to boost ranged attackers and close combat attackers alike.

Now I did omit someone that I had almost forgotten about… Gideon. Don’t remember Gideon? Neither does the majority of comic book fans (sorry Rob Liefeld). He was this 90’s enemy of X-Force that was one of the rare breed of immortal mutants known as the Externals. So during his abnormally long life, Gideon founded his own corporation and became rich. An 85 point piece was made of Gideon in Giant Sized X-Men. His stats are decent and he has a Special Power that allows you to copy nearby character’s powers every turn. If you want to use Gideon, though, you have to play an 1100 point game, but at that point, I say lets just go 1200 to be a more even number. To get there, I would upgrade Lex Luthor to his aforementioned battle-suit version from DC 10^th Anniversary. That gets you up to 1170, leaving 30 points for feats or relics.

Until next time, stay strange.