Next month will see a new semester begun at the Jean Grey School for mutants in “Wolverine and the X-Men” #1.

Wolverine, Storm, and Quentin Quire (Kid Omega) have taken over the helm and are guiding the next generation of mutants.

Marvel promises a challenge the likes of which we haven’t yet seen, stating in no uncertain terms that the X-Men won’t be ready for what they are about to face. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario that Wolverine couldn’t handle, even without any preperation so I’m interested to see what Marvel has planned.

The book is being written by Jason Latour with art by Mahmud Asrar. Issue #1 hit’s shelves March fifth, but you don’t have to wait until then to get a taste. Marvel has released a handful of images that you can see… right now.

Magneto is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe, his control over magnetism makes him a force to be reckoned with. There’s a reason he’s the central villain in all of mutant-dom. The best villains make you sympathize with them, they do the wrong thing for the right reason. Magneto has seen the darkest side of humanity firsthand. He’s not evil, he’s just a product of his environment, afraid that he and those like him may be subjugated once again. The worst part about it is he may be right.

“I think Magneto is definitely an anti-hero,” says series writer Cullen Bunn. “He’s fighting for the right thing, but his methods are far too extreme. He’s not above breaking the law, stretching the limits of what is moral and putting evil to work for good.”

He’s an in depth character deserving of his own series and that’s exactly what we’re going to get. “Magneto” #1 hits stands March fifth, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta.

Marvel released a series of teaser images that you can see below. Let us know what you think in the comments section.

3A is a company founded by Kim Fung Wong and Ashley Wood. They create toys and collectibles in 1:6, 1:12, and 1:1 scale. Most of their creations are based off of Ashley Wood’s art. Which if you aren’t familiar with, you should get familiar. 3A toys are made available on bambaland.com. Some of these are then released on sites like Secret Compass.

These toys sell out, and they sell out fast. 3A offers a membership that allows you a longer window to order from them, as well as access to exclusive toys. This membership is referred to as 3AA. Last night, or today in Japan where they are located, this was published on their Facebook account:

Feb 13th will see the release in our ongoing MARVEL line, I’m super excited about this line! Soon we can share Doctor Doom, Ultron, Spidey, Thor and Cap and more! I grew up in Perth Australia, reading Marvel, dreaming of drawing comics for them, so to be able to make our own versions of Marvel characters here at 3A is incredible. Now If only I could make the comics based on the toys, these designs are linked in my mind, a 3A secret war if you will! The Prototype (3AA only) and Stealth Iron Man are exclusive to Bambaland. As a side note, the shipping version of Stealth Iron Man will have red eyes, not blue like the images show!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to see Ashley Wood’s take on the Marvel universe. No pricing has been announced yet. Historically 1:6 scale figures are priced around $200. If you are interested in one of these bad boys, be ready February 12 at 6:00pm MST to jump on them. The non-exclusive versions will show up elsewhere, but the Stealth will likely sell out and is only available on Bambaland.

For more really awesome photos of these figures, check out the official PDF.

Image via – Conceptibot

Bryan Young and Thomas Winkley both contributed to this report.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney is expected to incorporate characters from Marvel and “Star Wars” into their line of Infinity games.

They spoke to an unnamed source for an article about layoffs at Disney’s Interactive Media unit, but sources said it would not affect the production of Infinity whatsoever.

Buried in the Wall Street Journal piece was this sentence:

New versions of “Infinity” featuring characters from Disney’s Marvel superhero unit and the Star Wars universe it acquired along with Lucasfilm in 2012 are being developed, one of these people said.

While this is not a confirmation in any way from Disney or Lucasfilm, the Wall Street Journal is not one to report erroneous details in their stories. And it seems like an obvious move. Infinity might be the best thing in gaming right now, where you’re buying individual action figures for their abilities to use in the game. If there’s one thing Marvel and “Star Wars” already sell well is action figures, combining them into the game seems like a no-brainer.

There’s already a thirst for it. The picture accompanying this article was a bit of fan art easily found on the Internet. (This particular piece came from a DeviantArt account for Conceptibot.)

If Disney is truly shying away from the prequels and looking forward, I’d expect to see “Star Wars: Rebels” and the classic trilogy take center stage for the first wave of Infinity figures. And for Marvel, “The Avengers” and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” seem to be good first choices.

But anything is possible.

UPDATE: We’ve independently confirmed from other sources in the technology and video gaming industry that Marvel is, indeed, heading to “Disney Infinity.” Still no word on “Star Wars.”

Salutations and Greetings.

The Eye of Agomatto has revealed a juicy rumor to the folks over at Latino Review, namely that Marvel Studios has been in talks to cast Johnny Depp as Dr. Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, for a Phase 3 Marvel film to come out after “Avengers 2” and “Ant-Man.”

This has been long-rumored and a bit a dream fancasting for many. Benedict Cumberbatch has also been rumored for the role, but this is the first leak out of The House of Ideas in a while. So let’s deconstruct this rumor and come up with how plausible it might be.

Reasons why Depp would be Dr. Strange

Johnny Depp has made more money for Disney, Marvel’s owner, over the last decade than pretty much anyone except maybe John Lasseter. Four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Alice in Wonderland and an upcoming sequel all making hundreds of millions of dollars, adding up to billions overall, they have something going on.

That being said, in Hollywood you’re only as good as your last film. And “The Lone Ranger” did not perform as well as some would’ve liked. “Dark Shadows” was also a little disappointing as well. (I’m being kind here. There are much more forcefully negative opinions of both of those films out there.) So maybe Johnny Depp is looking for something that is a surefire hit. 

Depp would also be great as Stephen Strange, as a sort of mystical elder statesman of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And he’s one of the few people you could legitimately see standing toe to toe with Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. 

Reasons why it might not be true

First of all, any time something that seems like dream fancasting is rumored, there is every reason to discount it as just that– fan hopes and dreams. Until we see the official press release from Marvel or from Depp’s agent, it’s not true.

Further, all that has happened, even according to the rumors, is that they have had meetings. Meetings happen all the time in Hollywood and come to nothing. This might be wishful thinking on the parts of either Marvel, Depp, or both. There’s still lots of space between that and an actual signed contract, a script, and a greenlit production.

And finally, this doesn’t really fit Marvel Studios’ modus operandi for casting. Generally speaking, they take undervalued talent that they can get on the cheap and then turn them into big stars. Chris Hemsworth. Robert Downey, Jr. Chris Evans. Mark Ruffalo. Chris Pratt. Paul Rudd.

Depp don’t come cheap.

Then again, maybe he would, after his recent stumbles he’s willing to take a paycut in exchange for future considerations (more money for sequels, etc)

So, take this with a grain a salt. A hopeful grain of salt maybe. Because Depp would make an excellent Sorcerer Supreme. By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!

Doctor Strange likely hits theaters in 2016. Keep your mystical senses attuned and we’ll let you know as soon as there is an official word.

After 20 years of crafting some of the finest Star Wars stories, Dark Horse will be handing the license over to Marvel, who is also owned by Disney. The announcement came by way of Marvel and StarWars.Com today, and comes as little surprise. 

From the release:

The Walt Disney Company’s Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment are joining forces to bring new Star Wars adventures to readers across the galaxy, with Marvel granted exclusive rights to create and publish Star Wars comics and graphic novels beginning in 2015.

 

The agreement marks a homecoming for the Star Wars comic books. Marvel Comics published the first Star Wars comic book, Star Wars #1, in March 1977, which went on to sell more than 1 million copies. Marvel Comics published its Star Wars series for nine years. In 1991, Dark Horse Comics took over the license, publishing fan favorite titles like Dark Empire and Star Wars: Legacy. Last year, Dark Horse released The Star Wars #1, an adaptation of George Lucas’ original rough-draft screenplay for the film, garnering rave reviews and national media attention and ranking among the top-selling Star Wars comics of all time.

 

“Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had,” said Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.”

 

“We here at Marvel could not be more excited to continue the publication of Star Wars comic books and graphic novels,” said Marvel worldwide publisher and president, Dan Buckley. “The perennial brand of Star Wars is one of the most iconic in entertainment history and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away.”

 

“We’re incredibly excited by this next chapter in the Star Wars saga,” said Andrew B. Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide. “Bringing together the iconic Lucasfilm and Marvel brands to tell new stories will allow us to continue to thrill lovers of the original Star Wars comic books and entertain generations to come.”

 

Marvel has continued to push comic book publishing forward with innovations and experiments like motion comics and digital-only releases, in addition to its deep, ongoing catalog of monthly series and graphic novels created by some of the industry’s most gifted artists and writers.

When news of Disney’s takeover of Lucasfilm was happening, one of the first questions raised was that of the fate of Dark Horse Comics. Now we know. 

Well, we know part of the story. What will happen to the 20 years of stories Dark Horse published? Will they be able to continue reprinting them? Will they have to print everything now and as soon as the stock runs out, it’s gone? Will Marvel reprint Dark Horse the way Dark Horse reprinted Marvel’s? Will it all just disappear? I asked this question of a Lucasfilm representative and they had no direct answer for me, only enough to tell me that plans are still developing. But that’s like telling me “Always in motion is the future.”

There are also some other clues that indicate we might be getting a reset of the Universe as it is. Take this sentence in the release: “In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.” 

Now, obviously Marvel is going to be telling new stories, but with the way it’s phrased (and I could be reading way too much into this) but it seems like we’re getting a new Star Wars Universe as far as the comics are concerned. I don’t see Marvel trying to shoehorn new stories into 20 years of comics continuity from a competing company. 

But maybe they will. 

Reset button or not, this is big news. Only time will reveal the details.

Maybe they can do us all a favor and bring back this guy:

And don’t forget to listen to the Full of Sith podcast next week for a discussion on this matter.

UPDATE: We have a statement from Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson:

All things come to pass. So too, do all licensed deals. I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015. This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades.

 

For those who are new to the industry, Dark Horse revolutionized the treatment of comics based on films. After a history of movie properties being poorly handled with little regard for execution and continuity, Dark Horse took a new approach, carefully choosing licenses and approaching them with excitement and creative energy. Our goal was to create sequels and prequels to the films we loved, paying careful attention to quality and detail, essentially treating those films as though they were our own. Star Wars has been the crown jewel of this approach. We began chasing the title as far back as 1989, and with the launch of Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s Dark Empire, a new era in comics was born. I’m not ashamed to admit that we were Star Wars geeks, and we have been determined to spare neither effort nor expense in the pursuit of excellence.

 

It is ironic that this announcement comes at a time when Dark Horse is experiencing its most successful year ever. For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? That’s a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014 may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one. We know that fans of the franchise will expect no less. The Force is with us still.

 UPDATE #2: I have been desperately trying to get to the bottom of the situation to discover how Marvel will handle the reprints of Dark Horse material and I was given this quote from Aub Driver at Dark Horse:

Per our original contract with LucasFilm, reprints of Dark Horse published material would require Disney to purchase the original files directly from Dark Horse.

Which is to say that it doesn’t seem as though that’s happening, at least not now. Basically, Disney and Marvel would have to acquire the back catalog of original art from Dark Horse in order to use any of it. If they were, it seems as though that would be in the works already, but from what I’m told, that doesn’t sound like that’s the case. Could this be the developing story LFL was referring to? Again, only time will tell. 

It’s been a while since the last Video Game Quick Hits from Christmas Eve, but the whole industry tends to shut down at the end of the year and very little in the way of news comes up. The biggest drop you may have missed last week was the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection for January. It’s quite the interactive plentitude. Check Zombietron’s coverage of it for full details, but let me just say it has Infinite possibilities.

The selection isn’t quite as grand for Games with Gold on XBox Live, but they are two very slick titles from Square Enix. Available now is Sleeping Dogs, a game that snuck by far too many people. It’s like a kung fu GTA. Coming January 16^th is the co-op action RPG Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Again, this one just didn’t get the attention it deserved when it came out a few years back. I believe both of these titles have previously been available in Sony’s IGC and are now making their way to Microsoft’s free service. These releases coincide with a Square Enix sale happening now. Sleeping Dogs DLC is also discounted at 50% off and is joined by massive discounts on 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot (my personal game of the year) for $20.09, Hitman: Blood Money for $9.99, and Just Cause 2 for $7.49.

It also appears a “new” free to play title is heading to XBox One. Digital Extreme’s Warframe has received an XB1 PEGI rating in Europe (that’s like our ESRB). Despite the rating, Digital Extreme says they “have nothing to announce at this time.” The co-op space ninja shooter is already available on PC and PS4. 

A recent post on the Batman: Arkham Origins Facebook page hints at the content of “All-new STORY DLC coming 2014! More details to come…” The post also included a picture that indicates we may see Mr. Freeze return to the series.

A slew of Activision’s Marvel titles have been removed from digital distribution on PSN and XBLA. Deadpool; X-Men: The Official Game, Destiny, Origins: Wolverine; and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Shattered Dimensions, and Edge of Time were made unavailable at the end of 2013. No official word has been given as to why the games were removed, but speculation is that the licensing agreement has expired. This isn’t necessarily reason enough to remove them from sale, which has many people speculating the move is related to a recent story surfaced by someone claiming to be an artist on the Deadpool game which tells of an especially troubled working environment.

That’s all for this year’s first VGQH. Still not much in the way of news, but that will pick up as the industry gets back to work after their holiday break. And really, it’s okay for a  slight break in the news. Hopefully you all have new games to play. Personally, I’m obsessively expanding Kenway’s Fleet and trying to claim ships with larger holds to carry my goods across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, I’ve concentrated so much on that aspect; I’ve been forgetting I have actual assassination targets and an observatory to find.

So if you are a nerd at all or even just a fan of the Marvel movies you have probably heard the rumor that Paul Rudd is playing Ant-Man. Well after a lot of rumor Marvel has confirmed it, which is super cool right?! Oh wait you’ve never heard of Ant-Man? That’s okay unless you spend your play money on comic books it’s not surprising. In fact your reaction might have been something like this.

                         Image from memecenter.

So if you are excited like me but want to know more about whom this hero is let me give you the basics. If you want his complete bio click here.

The first thing you need to know is that Dr. Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man is like Tony Stark in that he used his intelligence to become a hero. He specializes in robotics and biochemistry and became famous in the scientific community for discovering a group of subatomic particles, which surprise surprise, are called “Pym particles.”

With me so far? Good cause this is where it gets weird. Pym particles allow Dr. Pym to shrink or grow his body and other objects at will. He can shrink to the size of an ant or get super huge and then is known as Giant-Man. (Really cleaver names for himself I know). For all of you with dirty minds out there as far as I know unlike Mr. Fantastic he cannot enlarge only certain parts of his body at a time, it’s all or nothing sorry folks.

  Costume for the Ant-Man movie via geeknation.

So other than shrinking or growing what else can he do? Well he wears this really cool helmet that lets him talk to and even control ants. Not all that impressive I know but think about how much it would suck if a bunch of fire ants were crawling all over you and biting you.

  Image from lasertime.

There will be a few things that are different in the movie than from the comics. One of the big changes so far is that Ant-Man was a founding Avenger in the comics. That’s right he was one of the original members along with Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and his wife, Wasp. Clearly in the Marvel Movie Universe this is not the case. 

Also according to screenrant Hank Pym will not create Ultron the genocidal robot who attempts and almost succeeds in wiping out all of mankind. We know that Ultron will be the villain in the next Avengers movie and I’m just guessing here but I think that Ultron will be powered by one of the infinity gems that have been mentioned in all the movies except for the Iron Man trilogy. My guess is that the Avengers will destroy or depower Ultron and then try and hide the gem somewhere safe.

 Image from disney.

So there are the basics on who Ant-Man is. He’s not the coolest hero around but he plays a pretty important role in the Marvel comics and I hope that Marvel keeps up with it’s trend and makes another awesome superhero movie.

Ant-Man will hit theaters July 31^st 2015.

Over the last year we have gotten production shots and teaser images for next summer’s Amazing Spider-Man 2. This morning we finally got a full fledged trailer. As a Spider-Man super nerd, I’d like to break this down a bit and really look at what we’re being shown. Not only for this movie, but possibilities for future sequels.

Let’s start with what’s on the forefront of my mind, the rogues gallery of villains. We know of four villains that will definitely be getting screen time in the series. The Lizard appeared in the first film, and is currently locked up on Riker’s Island. If you recall, he was paid a visit by a shadowy figure in the film’s credits. This second movie will feature Rhino, Electro and the Green Goblin. I am guessing in that order. In this trailer we are teased with the Vulture’s wings and Doctor Octopus’s arms.

Paul Giamatti will be playing Aleksei Sytsevich, A.K.A. The Rhino. Believe it or not, it is rumored Paul pushed to get the roll because of his love of the character. In the trailer we see him having a few run ins with Spider-Man. My prediction is his first crime spree is foiled by Peter. Somehow he gets that mech suit covered in Russian symbols to seek revenge on Spider-Man. It is worth noting that he is the only villain that hasn’t been genetically altered. Because of this, I believe he is operating independent of Oscrop and Norman Osborn. I also believe this means after being defeated, Oscorp will approach him for an experiment to become something closer to the human and rhino hybrid. Most likely revealed in the fourth film of this series, but I will get to that in a minute.

The take on the Green Goblin is an interesting one. It seems as though they are going to jump straight to Harry as the Goblin, instead of Norman. The screenshot certainly looks like Harry. Maybe by the third movie they will have cured whatever it is that is killing Norman turning him into the goblin in the process. Either way, my money is on Harry the Goblin in this movie. Him and Peter don’t seem to be the chums they were in Sam Raimi’s movies.

I haven’t looked, but I am sure there is an uproar about the portrayal of the Green Goblin. For a lot of people, if it doesn’t look like the comic, it doesn’t work for them. Which is silly. If you haven’t, take a look at Sam Raimi’s tests he did for the Green Goblin. I do not see how this would have translated well to the big screen. Obviously neither did Raimi. I am hoping the Goblin story arc is a slow burn and he isn’t revealed until later in the movie.

Spider-Man does well in the comics at bouncing between multiple villains having slow burns over a long period of time. Not every villain needs a beginning, middle, and end to their story in one movie. Trying to do that with Electro, Rhino and the Goblin would be tough to pull off. I hope Rhino gets the least development and randomly shows up while Peter is swinging around. This might be more interesting and show the random onslaught of bad guys Spider-Man deals with every day.

If it’s not obvious enough, and the teases from the studio didn’t tip you off, I will… They are building up for a Sinister Six movie, rumored to be number four. I am predicting they spend movie number two with the villains addressed above. More of Goblin, Doc Ock, and Vulture in the third. I also think our dear Gwen will meet her fate in the third movie. All of these things culminating into a Sinister Six for the fourth. I also predict Connors A.K.A. The Lizard is conflicted and switches sides to help Peter.

In the trailer Peter also uncovers some more of the secrets about his father. It reminds me of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, where Peter’s Dad and Eddie Brock’s Dad developed a suit to cure cancer. This was found to be more useful as a weapon and eventually is what Venom is made out of. Peter’s parents demise was due to the company Richard Parker worked for killing him to take his research. I like this direction, it ties Peter in with Norman even more so, making that dynamic all the more interesting.

 I am getting very excited for this film. I was cautiously optimistic about the first one, and really enjoyed it. The movie definitely had a few blemishes, but as a whole it was great. And now that we are past the origin story business, we can get into what makes Spider-Man tick as a character. In the Raimi movies, which I still love two thirds of, Spider-Man doesn’t spend a lot of time in costume being Spider-Man. My favorite of the three (Spider-Man 2), he has denounced being a hero and spends the majority of the movie as Peter Parker. Don’t get me wrong, that is part of why I love it so much, but I want more wise cracking cocky Spider-Man. 

I think this film will deliver. What do you think?

Sony Pictures released a new trailer for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” this morning, and it is quite different from the leaked trailer we posted a few days ago. After a thorough watch it does seem as if they’re moving us into a Sinister Six story line. Thus far we see Rhino and Electro, Doctor Octopus’ arms are shown next to The Vulture’s wings, a flash of the Goblins face early on, and the giant bauble rising near the end could be Mysterio’s suit. It’s also worth noting that the warehouse moment has six doors, two of which reveal Vulture and Doc Oc. We will of course have to be open minded about the members if those are the six they are using, or it is possible that we are only seeing part of the group and the others will be brought in later. Hollywood always stays 100% true to the source material don’t they? May 2, 2014 brings us the first comic movie for next year, are you on board? 

Here are some screen caps of what seems to be the Sinister Six members.

The Rhino

The Green Goblin

The Vulture and Doctor Octopus

Mysterio ( Editor note: or as those in the comments and on twitter are saying maybe it’s the back of Electro’s head? Dude has a very round head)

And finally Electro. It looks like the movie is doing their own version of the Sinister Six instead of any of the many established comic versions, but oh well.