Thursday night, October 9, those of you close to Downtown Salt Lake City will have the opportunity to come watch “Captain America: The First Avenger” with the Big Shiny Robot! crew for free. This is in partnership with the downtown Salt Lake City Public Library.
The film starts at 6:00pm and the panel discussion afterward will take a look at the influence of this movie on superhero cinema and the roots of Captain America himself.
From the library’s write up:
Join us for a screening of the 2011 superhero blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger, which is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Afterwards, a panel of comic book experts will discuss the film, the material that inspired it, and more.
This film follows Steve Rogers, a man who, after being deemed unfit for military service, volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into Captain America, a Super Soldier. Now, as Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull. The fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film precedes the 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier and another upcoming Captain America film, which is set to be released in 2016.
Bryan Young, editor-in-chief of Big Shiny Robot! (geek news and reviews blog), will moderate the panel discussion. The members of the panel are:
Marvel has given the world another inside look at the legacy Wolverine will leave behind after he’s dead. The Marvel universe is in an uproar; even Deadpool recently broke the fourth wall in his bi-annual to tell viewers the inevitable is true. From rumors on the Internet, X-23 will soon take Logan’s place but not until far after Sabertooth has a turn at being “The Best at what they do” in the Marvel U.
Time Seeley and Ariela Kristantina will play out the loose ends following “The Death of Wolverine” when they pair up for “Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #2” in October. Check out the official press release below the Solicit and then gaze at the wonderful preview Marvel Entertainment has provided. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that if Logan has to go, at least Marvel has picked great storytellers like Tim Seeley and Ariela Kristantina to tell the tale.
DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY #2 (AUG140750) Written by: Tim Seeley Art & Cover by: Ariela Kristantina Canada Variant by: Ariela Kristantina (JUL148309) FOC 09/29/14, On-Sale 10/22/14
X-23 Cuts Loose in DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY #2!
From the ashes of Death of Wolverine comes a new beginning. Today, Marvel is pleased to present your new look at DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY #2, the next of 7-issue interconnected one-shots exploring the gaping hole left in the Marvel Universe following the loss of one of its greatest heroes. Focusing on X-23, fan favorite writer Tim Seeley and newcomer Ariela Kristantina chronicle the tale of anger and loss as Wolverine’s surrogate daughter grapples with the death of the man who has shaped her purpose and meant so much to her. Only his death was not the end, and the mission isn’t over. It’s only just beginning as the young mutant prepares for the next phase of her journey. What does this mean for her relationship with the All-New X-Men? Find out when X-23 faces a world without Wolverine in DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY #2!
For the last week I’ve been tearing through “Disney Infinity 2.0” with all the spare time I can muster. Admittedly, it hasn’t been much, I’ve only been able to play entirely through the Spider-Man playset, most of the way through the Avengers playset, and only some of the way through the Guardians of the Galaxy playset.
Thanks to the playsets and the Kyln Toybox and the tower defense game, both included in the starter set, I’ve been able to spend a lot of quality time with each of the Marvel characters and I have to say I’m incredibly pleased, but lets take this part by part.
Improvements to 1.0
This game is a much smoother experience than the Wii U and has a lot more playability to it. The problem I found in 1.0 was that, since I wasn’t the biggest fan of the unwieldy Toy Box mode, I got bored pretty quickly with the game. My kids took over from there, using it as a replacement for Minecraft when they’d been grounded from the computer.
The other most obvious thing is that you have, for the first time ever, Marvel characters able to interact with Disney characters. And since there’s no Fantastic Four team at launch, it’s easy to drop in the Incredibles in their stead. The toy box is also a lot easier to handle, things have been streamlined and it’s much, much easier to create experiences and games rather than just create environments for characters to slap each other in.
The biggest advancement between the games, however, might be the skill tree and level-up options for each of the characters, new and old. The ability to advance and get better is incredibly alluring in a game with super-heroes, and it’s definitely the right move.
Technical Stuff
This game is much more expansive and looks much better than the previous game. The New York city of the Avengers and Spider-Man (which are just out of reach of each other) feels like the Spider-Man web-slingers of old, you even start to get a feel for the city and where things are. My only complaint is that they’re slightly different cities. Spider-Man characters zone out if you get near Stark Tower and head to that part of town.
The capacity of the game is greatly improved. Toy Boxes don’t fill up as easy and you can have three times as many of them.
My biggest complaint was the speed of the game when I wasn’t hooked up to the Internet. I couldn’t imagine a situation where this game needed to have an active Internet connection. My Internet was down the day I received the game and the game stopped three times and slowed significantly on loading when it kept asking me where my Internet was. I don’t mind that it wants to check the Internet for updates or anything, but the fact that it wanted Internet at every load screen was reasonably obnoxious. As soon as the Internet was fixed, though, those issues disappeared.
The Figures
I’m assuming everyone is familiar enough with this game to know that you need to purchase what is essentially an action figure of each character you plan to play in the game. With all 15 of the Marvel launch figures, I was able to gaze upon each of them for long whiles and I have to say they’re the sort of thing I’d love to have adorning my shelves whether or not they were a component to a game. That the game play comes extra is truly a bonus.
And let me say this: for characters you couldn’t imagine yourself wanting to buy separately, don’t skimp on them. The characters that I felt I was least likely to play have turned out to be my favorite. Take Iron Fist, for example. I was expecting him to be a pretty boring character in a world where I could web sling around with Spider-Man or Venom, or shoot guns with Nick Fury, but no. Of all the time I spent playing the game, he was easily my favorite.
Don’t get me started on Rocket Raccoon and Groot, though. The figures are fantastic and their gameplay follows suit. That I can have Groot carry Rocket around, shooting all the while is nothing short of brilliant.
Each of these figures is a work of art on its own.
Gameplay
More than anything the game is fun. It felt very much like a cartoony version of the “Spider-Man 2” games from the mid 2000s, but that’s not a bad thing. The city feels open, the missions are a lot of fun, the stories work perfectly in the animated Disney style they’ve chosen, and I haven’t encountered any awkward control issues, at least not on the control pad for the Wii U.
It was a move of brilliance that they packaged the game the way they did. As soon as they opened the box, my daughter wanted to play the Guardians of the Galaxy set. Two missions in, she got a little discouraged. “I want to break out of the prison, dad. That’s what I want to do.”
Well, lo and behold, the Kyln toy box that came with the starter set allows her to do just that. She ditched the playset proper and did all of the toy box missions set in the Kyln.
Aside from the game itself, I think I had the most fun playing the tower defense game set on Asgard that comes in the box. You get to play with any combination of characters, from 1.0 or 2.0 and defend Odin’s relics. It’s challenging, fun, and adds lots of replayability to the entire investment.
Overall
Overall, there’s nothing bad I’d really say about this game. It’s perfect for casual gamers like me. The more hardcore among us might be looking for a different experience, but this is perfect for me to play with my kids on the weekends or unwind with a beer after work. Who wouldn’t want to pound some frost giants into submission with Mjolnir?
Now all they have left to add is Star Wars characters and the Muppets and we’ll be set for life.
As far as 2.0 itself is concerned, though, my advice is for you to pick it up now. It hits stores today, or you can get it on Amazon with free shipping.
At Salt Lake Comic Con last week, I had the chance to sit on the “LGBTQ in Geekdom” panel and had a wonderful time. It was mainly a Q&A between the panelists and the audience, and to say that it was well received would be an understatement as it was a nearly full room. Seeing so many LGBT geeks and allies in the same room was really encouraging, especially in this reddest of states with a marriage amendment lawsuit currently waiting to see if it will hit the Supreme Court’s docket.
One of the first questions I answered had to do with how LGBT people are portrayed in comics, and my response drew the ire of one young woman in the front row. She took issue with the fact that I didn’t believe that comics (or any medium) need to meet a quota of LGBT characters. Instead, I said that their introduction or coming out should feel natural and not be forced just to have a “token gay” in the comic. Characters shouldn’t be turned gay just because people feel there needs to be greater representation. She adamantly disagreed, saying that there should be a 50/50 mix between straight and other sexually oriented characters, and how dare I suggest that people “turn” gay. I only had a brief time to respond to that question, but her statement has stuck with me and is something that should be addressed.
One of the biggest arguments against splitting characters equally is the simple fact that it doesn’t accurately reflect society. Depending on the study, the percentage of LGBT people ranges somewhere between three and ten percent. Gauging the sexuality of a population is difficult as it mainly relies on people’s volunteering the information about themselves. Since there are still a lot of people who aren’t out or don’t identify as gay or lesbian even if they have engaged in same-sex relations (this one time, at band camp), the result will hardly ever be accurate. If people want to be up in arms about how cultures are reflected in comics, they would do better to look at racial minority groups, as many of them are under represented in the medium. One could also easily look at how women are still depicted as sexual objects and not as the powerful people they are (Spider-Woman variant, anyone?).
There’s also the fact that requiring artists and creators to include an exact percentage of LGBT character runs the risk of their just becoming a token character who is only there because they have to be, and not because they have anything useful or interesting to do. It becomes an argument of quality over quantity. Many writers work on multiple titles at a time and have a lot of work to do every month, so to cram more restrictions and rules on what they can and can’t do will end up with a lower quality product that no one will be happy with.
Hi, I’m the Token Gay, where do you need me?
As is always the case, if that happens, then the same fans who demanded the additions will be the first to bitch and complain about how fake and unrealistic the newly added characters are
Wouldn’t it be better to have a writer take a character, even an original one, and cast and mold them into something unique and interesting that actually gets people emotionally involved? Hulkling and Wiccan are perfect examples of gay characters done right, as is Northstar (his being shoved back in the closet in the 90s notwithstanding) because their sexual identities were baked into their character and not tacked on later.
Which leads me to the whole “turning people gay” thing.
Look, I’m in no way suggesting that people “turn” gay, lesbian, bi, trans, whatever. I can attest to the fact that when puberty hits and your sexual side turns on, you have absolutely no choice in what gender you’re attracted to. Aside from extreme right-wing nuts, almost no one subscribes to that lunacy anymore.
Which is why it’s almost insulting when creators arbitrarily do something like that and make a big deal about it a la DC and Alan Scott. DC decided to make a big deal about the fact that the original Green Lantern was going to come out as gay, and it just felt like pandering. I have absolutely no issue with the fact that the character was reimagined as gay, but the way that DC was just flouting it about and trying to make it some BIG deal made it incredibly stupid. “OOOOH, a classic DC character is coming out, guess who?” they taunted us. Well it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Superman, Batman or any of the ones that actually mattered because that might have hurt sales. Let’s take someone almost everyone had forgotten about, change his sexuality, and then sit back and act all smug like we had done something worthwhile. No you didn’t, DC, you just made yourselves look like asses.
Thanks, DC, for making your gay characters come across as creepy
Sure, a straight character could come out, and if handled appropriately, that’s completely fine, but wouldn’t it be more fun and a lot more interesting to introduce a new LGBT character, let them take the reigns of a big-name hero(ine) like Cap, Thor or Wonder Woman, and then when the original takes their mantle back (as they always do), spin off that new person into a comic of their own and let them grow from there? If they were written the right way, then people are going to like them and want to see what they do next. As a bonus, it all happened naturally and organically — the way it should have.
Look, I agree with that young woman from Comic Con; I do want to see more LGBT representation in comics, but it needs to be done the right way. Forcing people to change or look at things differently rarely has a positive outcome, and it would definitely be the wrong thing to do in this situation. Ask anyone you know who used to be against LGBT rights and now supports them why they changed their minds, and they will almost unequivocally say that it was because a loved one came out to them. Faced with the reality that someone who is near and dear to them is struggling or being hurt based on their views of their innate sexuality is what made them change. Not telling them they were wrong, calling them a bigot or shunning them. No, it was through love.
The same will work in all of our forms of entertainment. Give people characters they love and identify with, even if they differ from them in a lot of ways, the public will ask for more. Look at “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”; that comic series (and movie) had wonderfully portrayed gay and bisexual characters that everyone loved mainly because the writer was smart enough to make their sexuality a part of what made them unique but wasn’t their only trait. No one wants to get invested in someone who is completely one-sided and boring; “Scott Pilgrim” celebrated their sexuality but made them more than just who they slept with, and this needs to be reflected in real life as well as fiction. If someone’s identity is completely wrapped up with who they’re banging, then they should probably step back and reexamine their life. Sex is great and who people have sex with is an important part of life, but it shouldn’t be the main focus.
There are tons of great LGBT characters across all the forms of entertainment, and more are being added on a daily basis. Instead of complaining that there aren’t enough, we in the community need to go out and support the good stuff that is out there. Buy good comics, watch great movies, check out the awesome TV shows that include these characters. The more notice and fanfare we help these things attract, the better chance we’ll get more and even better stuff in the future.
And no one will have to force others to include us in their stories — they’ll be excited and energized to throw us into the mix.
StarWars.com announced today that Marvel will be reprinting Star Wars comics originally published by Dark Horse. First on the slate for April 2015 is a giant 440-page tome of a book, Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire Vol. 1 TPB.
This Epic Collection will contain a variety of Legends stories from the timeframe of Episode III:
STAR WARS: REPUBLIC 78-80 (Introducing Post-Revenge of the Sith Darth Vader and Jedi fugitive Dass Jennir)
STAR WARS: PURGE 1
STAR WARS: PURGE — SECONDS TO DIE 1
STAR WARS: PURGE — THE HIDDEN BLADE 1
STAR WARS: PURGE — THE TYRANT’S FIST 1-2
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER AND THE LOST COMMAND 1-5
STAR WARS: DARK TIMES 1-5 (featuring Dass Jennir)
The collected edition will include work from creators including writers John Ostrander, Randy Stradley, Haden Blackman and Alexander Freed; plus artists Luke Ross, Douglas Wheatley, Jim Hall, Chris Scalf, Marco Castiello, Andrea Chella and Rick Leonardi.
Analysis Droids: What is interesting about the announcement on the official Star Wars website: No mention of Dark Horse as the original publisher, even though all the listed comics (and the listed writers and artists) are from the Dark Horse run, and all of them are from the past 10 years. Nope, this is a cut and paste of the Marvel press release, and so Dark Horse is not mentioned.
Announcing this on the day that the last new Dark Horse Star Wars issue (Legacy #18) comes out signifies that from now on, the spotlight is on Marvel for Star Wars Comics. There are a few remaining Dark Horse collections coming out, including a super-sized gallery book focusing on the pencil art of Dark Times 1-5.
But this news means that Marvel and Dark Horse have a deal, where the House of Ideas has either bought or licensed the original art to these comics so that it would be reprinted with a Marvel logo. And with a title like Empire: Volume 1, we can expect to see more Dark Horse comics reprinted under the Marvel Epic Collection banner, most likely more of Dark Times and the various Darth Vader series that both take place in the post-ROTS era.
Overall, this news comes as a bit of a surprise to me – While it makes sense for Marvel to shell out to have instant SW product that sells while they start to build up their own comic lines, I didn’t see any indications that Dark Horse would want to sell, but I suppose the price was right. I am curious as to how royalties for comics work.
In other Marvel Star Wars news, the January 2015 omnibus, The Marvel Years: Volume 1, will have a variant cover. Announced previously, this 880 page omnibus will contain the first 44 issues of the 1970s Marvel Star Wars comics along with Annual #1, connecting A New Hope to The Empire Strikes Back. Besides the regular cover by Howard Chaykin, there will be a direct market version with a Greg Hildebrant cover.
When Marvel finally gets around to a Doctor Strange movie, it may throw audiences right into his time as Sorcerer Supreme without going into detail on how the mystical hero got to that point in his career.
‘Deliver Us From Evil’ director Scott Derrickson’s ‘Doctor Strange’ will not be an origin story and neither will the Marvel movies following it. Faraci said this about Stephen Strange’s big screen debut:
“Doctor Strange, they had a script in house forever….It’s a pretty standard origin story for Doctor Strange, it’s got Baron von Mordo as the bad guy. That’s all gone. Marvel’s new thing is no more origin stories. It’s got Doctor Strange all ready established as The Sorcerer Supreme. It’s a totally new script. Jon Spaiths [of ‘Prometheus’] is working totally new, on his own, without any of the previous stuff. They’re not even touching the previous script…. This is not going to be 20 minutes of him as a doctor.”
Origins aren’t gone. Origin movies are gone.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a perfect example of how origins stories in superhero movies almost bog down the film’s narrative and pace. The newest Marvel movie didn’t have a traditional origin story, although it shows how the team came together, but rather gave audiences bits and pieces of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon’s back story as a way to propel the film’s story and action. The film’s screenwriters – James Gunn and Nicole Perlman – gave audiences enough information about its characters to justify their actions. We never saw Drax’s murdered family, or the terrible experiments performed on Rocket, or Gamora’s iffy family, but we still understood why they were doing what they’re doing.
At this point in movie-going, audiences can accept that superheroes exists in movies and move on from there. No need for handholding, if general audiences can get on board with a weird superhero movie like Guardians Of The Galaxy, then will mostly get on board with almost anything. Besides, it would get pretty boring and tedious if over the next six years, a majority of those 40 new superheroes coming up have the same structure and template. It’s time for superhero and comic book movies to evolve again into a more mature genre. Today’s movie-going audiences are smart enough to fill-in-the-blanks with a superhero’s mythology.
Specifically, in the case of Marvel, it’s the fact that the universe is so established the need for origins is becoming less necessary. I feel like the movies are happening linearly (Captain America being an exception), so any other heroes will have been well established in the fiction of the universe now. Perhaps Marvel doesn’t want to lose that momentum? Instead of wasting time they get right into it, so the teams ups will have more significance.
Does it disappoint you that we potentially won’t get to see how Stephen Strange became a master of the mystic arts? In the end, does it even matter?
The “Ant-Man” twitter account sent out this tweet earlier today giving us our first look at Paul Rudd’s character in the upcoming “Ant-Man” film. Rudd will play Scott Lang and it looks like part of the film will be based in San Francisco, giving us a little more of that West Coast action in the MCU. Rudd must be doing something sneaky because he’s in hoodie stealth mode. Hoodies up in movies always mean emotions and sneaky time.
“Ant-Man” hits theaters next July.
Why the ‘Awesome Mix, Vol 1’ is a Hit. . . 40 Years Later
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a huge hit. Even more surprising is that a soundtrack populated by mostly-forgotten tunes from the 70’s is connecting with fans, most of whom weren’t even alive when these songs were originally released.
So what’s the deal? As Swank-mo-tron noted, Tarantino has put out soundtracks like this and we’re shocked that people like. . . *gasp!* . . . good music?
Contrary to Swank’s opinion, I think what makes this soundtrack great is not that the songs are great. In fact, several of them are abject crap spawned from one of the worst decades of pop music of the last century. If I were putting together a mixtape of songs from the 70’s, I wouldn’t include any of these. . .ok, maybe “I Want You Back.”
But just like the Guardians themselves, these songs are misfits and unconventional choices. But they work. And that’s the beauty. It’s a collection of songs that fits the tone and theme of the film by picking songs rejected from the Island of Misfit Songs, a feat a movie soundtrack hasn’t done since. . .well, the early 90’s with soundtracks like “Singles,” “The Crow,” “Lost Highway” or any number of Tarantino soundtracks. Most of those songs aren’t great in and of themselves, but they evoke a mood and ethic that fit the film.
So I got together with Zendobot to take a stab at this and go track by track, including a link to each song, and we’ll go into what might be on an “Awesome Mix Vol. 2” for the now-inevitable Guardians sequel.
1. Blue Swede – Hooked on a Feeling
CitizenBot: “THAT SONG BELONGS TO ME!!!” Peter Quill yells at the guard lifting his Walkman as he gets tased. I never thought this song would get redeemed after being the “dancing baby” song in the late 90’s (thanks Ally McBeal. Actually, yes, thank you, because you helped resurrect Robert Downey Jr’s career, but that’s besides the point.)
Anyway, this “Oooga-Chaka” was the thing that immediately set this trailer apart, as well as rocketing this song to the top of the iTunes charts. There’s something about it, despite it being a kitschy throwback used incredibly ironically in a scene where our heroes are processed into prison.
2. Raspberries – Go All the Way
CitizenBot: This is one of those songs I’d never heard before this soundtrack came out. There’s a reason why, as it’s cobbled together with this amazing, chunky guitar riff that memorably plays over Starlord’s escape with the orb on Morag And then it transitions into this by-the-numbers-50’s-pop-song that could’ve been written by Neil Sedaka or Roy Orbison and a bridge blatantly wripped off from The Beatles’ “Please Please Me.” Love the chunky guitar riffs. Could do without the easy listening.
3. Norman Greenbaum – Spirit in the Sky
CitizenBot: I love love LOVE this song. Talk about chunky guitar riffs. And this song makes me nostalgic for the 60’s when the Jesus freaks were hippies and into peace and love instead of. . .well, today.
My only complaint? This never made it into the film, but only the trailer. But. . .that trailer, tho.
4. David Bowie – Moonage Daydream
CitizenBot: So, I tell you we’re making a space movie with a 70’s soundtrack and I ask you to pitch me songs to put in it. David Bowie’s name is completely obvious, right? Here, let me give you a couple obvious ideas: Space Oddity. (Duh) Ziggy Stardust. Starman. Life on Mars. Suffragette City. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps. If you just limited it to songs on the Ziggy Stardust album, Moonage Daydream would still be the fifth song I would guess.
Which is why this works. It’s NOT obvious. The same way a talking racoon and giant tree aren’t obvious. Smart move.
5. Elvin Bishop – Fooled Around and Fell in Love
CitizenBot: What a great song to explain “Footloose” to. “I will not be a victim of your pelvic sorcery!” is a classic rejection. But that’s what a little bit of soul will do to a green-skinned, genetically modified superweapon.
6. 10Cc – I’m Not in Love
CitizenBot: This is the song for people for whom Bread and Todd Rundgren had a little too hard of an edge. This song was one I could’t have named you the artist or title before now, except that it was the song likely to make me yell, “CHANGE THE STATION. WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE?!?!” It makes me want to do a lot of drugs and slit my wrists, in that order. If I never heard it again, I’d be happy. But, as the song that opens the film with lil’ 8 year old Peter Quill sitting in a hospital waiting room, it set the mood perfectly. Death. Sadness. Yes.
7. Jackson 5 – I Want You Back
Zendobot: What’s not to love about a young Michael Jackson’s upbeat pop music? The song will, like many other Jackson 5 hits, make your feet start tapping before you’ve even realized what’s happening. This is yet another song picked for the emotional pull it has in the film and for the title and the songs placement in the film.
CitizenBot: Absolutely. This is one of the best songs of the decade and one of the few instantly recognizable songs on the soundtrack. It also delivers one of the best moments of the film and. . . doesn’t everyone want a dancing Groot in a pot now?
8. Redbone – Come and Get Your Love
CitizenBot: THE SINGLE MOMENT I knew Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be great was the opening credits sequence on Morag when Peter Quill is dancing in the bottom left of the screen, pointing to the sky, singing “Hey-ey! Hey-ey!” and the Title pops up. Hells yes. We’re in for something.
9. The Runaways – Cherry Bomb
Zendobot: Explosive is the word that comes to mind when I hear this song. The 14 year old kid in me instantly thinks, “It’s a shame they don’t make Cherry Bomb’s any more.” The more reasonably aged side thought the same but only for a moment as I braced or more dazzling eye candy moments in Guardians.
The track list in this film is an attention getter that a traditional score could never hope to achieve during an audience members first time with the film. When “Cherry Bomb” comes on, the crowd instantly knows to pay attention because they’ll miss something if they don’t.
CitizenBot: My favorite part of this is learning that they played this song on set for the scene where they walked down the hallway in slow motion in preparation for the final battle. Just awesome. Also, The Runaways are such an underappreciated group. A cherry bomb themselves, as it were: big and loud and explosive for a tiny moment and then blew themselves apart by the sheer force of their bombacity. Anything that helps us remember them is awesome.
10. Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
(I refuse to link to this because I hate it so much. Just no.)
CitizenBot: BURN IT! BURN IT WITH FIRE!!! This song deserves to be blasted out of existence using the power of an Infinity Stone. Which is awesome, because it might be one of the most popular songs on this collection. Ugh. But the way it got used in the film? Fine. Glad they didn’t let it linger any longer. Ironic, because, see, they “escape” from prison? “BOOOOOOOOO!” Your pun is bad and you should feel bad.
11. The Five Stairsteps – O-O-H Child
Zendobot: The placement of this track was done brilliantly by Gunn and his creative team. This track was a message from Quill’s mother in life and in death. It was placed in the mix by his mother to comfort the child. Peter’s mom wanted him to know that life is hard but, hopefully, those moments are few and the pass quickly. As Peter’s hand reaches out for his mothers, her message is the same for Peter 2 decades later.
Citizenbot: In that same way, this song worked to save the whole galaxy, if you think about it. Also, this was a song I was not familiar with before seeing the movie, and it struck a major chord with me. In fact, I had some major stress in my life (work related) that made me want to go all fetal position. Instead, I listened to this over and over and over again. And it was about the only thing getting me through that time. And things, indeed, got better, and someday we put it together. Thanks, James Gunn and The Five Stairsteps.
12. Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Citizenbot: This song is just the best. Meredith Quill knew what she was doing, passing along this song to her son. You don’t need any more encouragement than listening to this. Somehow I always equated this song with the civil rights struggles of the 60’s and 70’s and the optimism that people had to hold in order to take on such monumental injustices. I hope that is also not lost on Peter Quill and the rest of the Guardians.
Awesome Mix Vol. 2
So, [spoiler alert], if you saw the film you know that Peter Quill receives a second “Awesome Mix,” which we’re treated to hearing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I Want You Back” from. But what other songs might be on here?
We’re promised the Guardians of the Galaxy will return. . . so what would we want on a soundtrack? Make your own Spotify playlist of this one, kids, and leave other suggestions in the comments section.
Most of these I include because they rock, they’re funky, groovy, or otherwise awesome. Rather than elect for the more obscure, but also keeping away from the obvious A-list songs, I wanted to put songs that make sense in terms of theme and tone. But mostly, these are just good songs:
Foghat – Slowride
Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band – Express Yourself
Ram Jam – Black Betty
Marvin Gaye – Got to Give It Up
Styx – Renegade
Electric Light Orchestra – Don’t Bring Me Down
Doobie Brothers – China Grove
Stevie Wonder – Higher Ground
ZZ Top – La Grange
Heart – Barracuda
The Hollies – Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
Teddy Pendergrass with Herry Melvin and the Blue Notes – Wake Up Everybody
Cuz ain’t nothing like a little Teddy Pendergrass.
The Temptations – Papa Was a Rollin Stone
Let’s go find Peter Quill’s father. Maybe a message in here from Meredith to young Peter?
Awesome Mix Vol. 3
Ok, Ok, this is just overly indulgent, but I hope I’m not the only Marvel fanboy who can’t wait for the Guardians to make it to Earth, Peter Quill to meet Tony Stark face to face. . . and maybe update his music collection with an iPod holding an incredibly awesome mix of similar music. If Tony quickly scanned the contents of Awesome Mix Vol 1 and 2 and he and JARVIS auto-compiled a list of MP3s to pass along, I think they’d include the following:
Metallica – Whiskey in the Jar
In keeping with the 70’s theme, this is a Thin Lizzy song (actually an old Irish drinking song) covered by Metallica. You know Tony Stark has this one in his library, even if he is more of an AC/DC guy himself. Speaking of:
AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, T.N.T., and Thunderstruck
Because AC/DC and Marvel movies go together better than Tony Stark and single malt scotch.
Well, that’s it. Make sure to leave your suggestions in the comments section.
This episode features: Tyson, Kiley, Jimmy, Lucas, and Tom, with special guest Cassidy!
Topic: Comics/Collectibles
Headlines:
Changes to the Marvel Universe (Captain Falcon; Female Thor; Superior Iron Man; Original Sin)
TMNT/Ghostbusters Crossover
LEGOs (Guardians of the Galaxy; The LEGO Movie; Arse-bot’s addiction)
TMNT Action Figures
Discussion: The new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” – Film, collectibles, etc.
As always, thank you for listening! If you like what you hear, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and rate us! Have feedback for the Big Shiny Podcasters? Want to suggest a topic to cover? Want to just give us a shout? Feel free to drop the host of the BSPC!, Tyson, an e-mail at tyson@bigshinyrobot.com or on Twitter, @Arse_bot!
May 2016 was set to be the big showdown between Marvel and DC as both “Captain America 3” and “Batman v. Superman” were scheduled to be released the same weekend. While fanboys took to the internet to argue and declare who would come out victorious, most of us sat back and waited to see which studio would blink first and move the date. After all, there is just too much money to be had here, and both movies couldn’t survive being released on the same day.
Well, DC flinched, and I’m pretty sure they made this decision after seeing how a little movie called “Guardians of the Galaxy” just blew away box office records and became one of the biggest films of the year.
“Batman v. Superman” will now be released on March 25, 2016 while “Cap 3” will keep it’s original spot on May 6.
While I’m sure that Marvel fanboys will immediately pounce on this saying that it “proves” Marvel is superior, it’s actually a win for everyone as this pretty much guarantees a bigger box office for both films since there will be a lot less competition. I’m also happy because, as much as I’m looking forward to seeing them, I wasn’t excited to spend nearly five hours in the theatre on what would pretty much be a double feature.
So what do you all think? Did DC do this because they’re scared of Marvel, or is this simply a smart business decision? Let us know in the comments below.
