I love that Marvel is putting these videos together with Agent Coulson. He’s never really gotten to do anything badass in the movies yet and this is really the first time he has.
He’s become a really cool character and I’m glad they’re finding more to do with him.
The second day of New York Comic Con has come to a close and I’m resting my feet back at a friend’s place in Queens. Today was fantastic – lots of great interviews, panels and special events. The highlights of my day included interviewing Chris Sabat, Justin Cook, and Sean Schemmel from Dragon Ball Z, seeing Joe Simon (who just turned 98 years old on Tuesday) at his panel “My Life in Comics,” and getting an up-close glimpse of Stan Lee meeting colleagues at the Archie Booth on the show floor. We’ve got a lot of great stuff coming up for you once we get a chance to get it all edited and web-ready, but for now I wanted to share some photos with you from Thursday and Friday. Enjoy!
Be sure to check back soon for our interviews with Tom Morello, the Skullgirl’s creative team, Kevin Conroy, Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, Chris Sabat, Justin Cook, Sean Schemmel and more!
I earned my platinum trophy on inFAMOUS 2 last night. What a great game. After viewing both the positive and evil karma endings, without spoilers, I think it’s safe to say that an inFAMOUS 3 should be pretty much out of the question. It’s so hard to believe that anyone would just end such a successful franchise, but it would be refreshing. Movies, TV, games, comics, all of these media seem to suffer from the same problem. Nobody wants to end on a high note if they can keep making money. Oh well, on to the news, which is chock full of comic goodness.
After the leaked trophy list and additional artwork, Rocksteady has finally made an official announcement regarding Nightwing in Batman: Arkham City. Nightwing will be playable in all challenge maps, including two add-ons – Wayne Manor and Main Hall. He also has his own special moves and gadgets, taking full advantage of his twin fighting sticks. As with the other characters, you can expect at least one additional (animated) skin. You can download Nightwing, and Robin if you don’t get him through pre-order, on November 22nd for $6.99 each. The additional skins for Batman himself that have been spread around to retailers across the world will also be available December 6th for $4.99. The game will be out on Tuesday, October 18th.
If you like your playboys a little less stealthy, and little more… well, smarmy, there’s good news on the horizon. Replay Games has secured the rights to Leisure Suit Larry and have promised HD remakes for your download service, as well as new adventures for the lovable Larry Laffer. Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of The Lounge Lizards will be released to PSN and XBLA “as soon as it’s suitably awesome!” Which is expected to be fourth quarter of 2012. The best part of this news is that Al Lowe, Larry’s creator, is back on the job, overseeing all Larry productions in his new home at Replay. Development will be handled by Adventure-Mob.
If you’re looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII-2, you may want to load up on Microsoft Points or PSN Cards. Square Enix is planning a strong amount of DLC for the upcoming RPG. And they’re not just talking extra costumes and weapons, though they’ll have those too. Yoshinori Kitase, Producer, recently told a Japanese gaming magazine, Dengeki Playstation, that they’re planning one or two add-ons per month. It’s when he went on that I got confused. Kitase mentioned that the player may have to kill a certain enemy or accomplish some other goal to gain a DLC item. So we’re paying for a chance to unlock an item, not for the item itself? I’m hoping something is lost in translation. I’m thinking if we buy an extra mission, one of the rewards for the mission would be special items. That’s much more like the Fallout 3/New Vegas model. But Japanese gamers and developers don’t always think the same as their Western counterparts. We’ll find out when the game releases in Japan in December. But it won’t be relevant for the rest of us until January 31st.
You may be wondering why I said you want to stock up on PSN cards in that last story. Why wouldn’t you just use your credit card? Remember that fiasco where Sony had been hacked and some users information was breached? No, not that one from Spring of this year. The one that happened earlier this week. In case you missed it, 93,000 Sony accounts were hacked. Click here to read about it in more detail.
When you bought the inFamous 2 Special Edition, you were supposed to get early access to the Uncharted 3 beta. Turns out, because of Sony’ first hacking breach, everyone ended up with PS+ and got in at the same time. Despite that, it was a cool bonus. One of Sony’s flagship franchises hooked you up with the beta for another one of their flagship franchises. Now it’s Drake’s time to return the favor. If you buy a new copy of Uncharted 3 (starting November 1st) you’ll get a voucher code for early acces to Starhawk‘s multiplayer beta. No word yet on when that early access will begin, but the public beta is scheduled for “early 2012.” Which means you could possibly be getting a start on Starhawk as a nice Christmas present.
If you’re itching for details on Gran Turismo 5‘s DLC pack coming next week, here they are:
Looking for the next title in the list of games no one wants? Here it is: Men in Black III. You have no idea how much I wish I were kidding. But it’s going to be a major blockbuster next year, it requires a video game, doesn’t it? I don’t suppose Activision would consider actually making this game fun would they? It looks like it could have some awesome third person shooter gunplay, a la Mass Effect, but it probably won’t. I’m expecting it to be on the same level of quality as the last two travesties in the series. It’s scheduled for Spring 2012, near the release of the film, so there will at least be some good games in the time frame.
There is at least one movie tie-in game on the 2012 horizon that could be pretty good though, The Amazing Spider-Man. I don’t think anyone ever believed there wouldn’t be a tie-in for the web slinger’s latest film outing, but its existence was apparently confirmed by a poster seen at New York Comic-Con. I don’t have a super-great picure of it, but rest assured, the Activision and Beenox logos are on the poster, and you can just barely see the Rating Pending logo on the bottom left. Beenox is the developer who recently overhauled the Spidey gaming franchise with Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time. Hopefully tying a game in with a movie won’t affect their already proven formula too much. Expect the game to release around the same time as the film, July 4th, 2012.
In other Marvel news, Zen Studios, makers of Zen Pinball and Pinball FX (depending on your console), announced at San Diego Comic-Con that they had four more tables coming to their popular line of Marvel Pinball. Called the Vengeance and Virtue pack, the plan is for two Vengeance tables and two Virtue tables. The first half of the Vengeance team has been announced as the Spirit of Vengeance himself, Ghost Rider. But who’s the other half? My guess is Punisher. And who are the two Virtue characters? We’ll know one of them tomorrow. At the NYCC Marvel panel, from 1:15-2:15 Saturday, they will be making the announcement of the first Virtue table. If you aren’t bloodhounding everything that comes out of NYCC, just check back here on Tuesday. I’ll have the update. And, as if that isn’t enough, Zen Studios has also announced that Marvel Pinball is coming to the PlayStation Vita whenever it is the new handheld launches. And it’s going to be a launch title.
Comedy Central’s latest gaming venture is South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge. You’ll be able to play as Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny with up to four players, locally or online. The South Park kids will be battling Scott Tenorman and his Ginger army in Spring 2012, only on XBLA.
In other news on the downloadable front, Payday: The Heist (PSN exclusive) and “The Missing Link” add-on for Deus Ex: Human Revolution have both been listed for release on October 18th. Payday is a first-person co-op shooter that is included free for anyone who purchased all four PSN Play titles. It’s $20 if you haven’t. The Deus Ex DLC expands on Adam Jensen’s time aboard the Belltower freighter and will cost about $15.
That wraps it up today. Come on back on Tuesday for another round of gaming news. I’ll be sure to include everything I can find from NYCC.
I think this trailer just melted my brain.
This movie is going to be incredible.
Here’s the link, be sure to watch it over and over again in glorious quicktime at 1080p… Jeez.
My only beef with this trailer is the music. It didn’t work for me. I wanted something more epic and less “rock.” Maybe it’s just me that always wants more John Williams or Kronos Quartet for my movies than cut rate rock bands that’ll make the movie (and the trailer) seem dated a decade from now. “>Remember that terrible song from Spider-Man? Ugh.
But this trailer was ultimately satisfying to me.
I’m DYING for May to come along.
UPDATE: I’m told the music is Nine Inch Nails. For the Record: I am in NO WAY comparing Nine Inch Nails to Nickelback. I just didn’t think this piece of music worked in the trailer as well as an orchestral piece would have.
Big Shiny Robot! will be at New York Comic Con 2011. Will you? Check out our complete coverage of NYCC 2011 events, news, screenings, interviews, and more!
Official Press Release – 10/06/2011
Marvel Television Invades New York Comic Con With New Footage & Announcements
The biggest pop culture event of the fall is almost here and Marvel Television will be at New York Comic Con with never-before-seen footage and exclusive announcements!
First, join Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television, on Friday, October 14th in Room 1A22 for Marvel Television Presents: Anime on G4 from 5-6pm for news on this cutting edge animation! Who will voice Blade when G4’s Blade anime premieres? You’ll find out…and see exclusive footage from the hotly-anticipated series. Plus, don’t miss the world-premiere of the X-Men anime with a special screening of Episode 1!
Then, on Saturday, October 15th get in line early for Marvel Television Presents, from 3:45-4:45pm in Room 1A10! Join Loeb as he updates fans on everything Marvel TV, from upcoming animated series on Disney XD to the latest on live action shows in development. Want to see a new clip from next year’s Ultimate Spider-Man animated series? Or the second season premiere of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!? This is the only place to see them…and some other cool stuff we can’t dare reveal!
“Everyone at Marvel Television knows we have the best fans in the world and we’re coming to New York Comic Con with some new material worthy of those fans,” explained Loeb. “If you’re an Avengers fan, Spider-Man or, just a fan of awesome television, then you’re going to want to be at these panels. And you never know which celebrities might surprise us with a visit!”
For more on Marvel’s plans for New York Comic Con, visit http://marvel.com/nycc2011
Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along on the Marvel Events App & events.marvel.com, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth, and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!
Agent M posted this up on his Tumblr and I didn’t think I could be more excited for this movie.
There’s shots of Nick Fury FINALLY getting into some action, Loki with some soldiers of some kind, this shot of Hawkeye and Black Widow in the thick of it, aside from some others.
You can see the rest of them here.
We were also told to keep an eye on the official Marvel Avengers website… Could a trailer or teaser be coming? Only time will tell.
The Avengers hits theatres next summer.
Now, this is only an interesting bit of tabloid news from the set of The Avengers (no, really, the source is The National Enquirer):
Apparently Robert Downey, Jr., dressed as Iron Man, hit a wrong button on his costume and smacked Scarlett Johansson in the face, knocking her off the platform they were on.
The actor was waiting to film scenes with his glamorous co-star in their new movie and was fiddling with the hi-tech gadgets attached to his outfit.
Downey Jr, 46, hit the ‘wrong’ button, which controls one of the arms and hit Scarlett – who plays Black Widow in the movie – in the face.
A source said: ‘It suddenly jerked backward and whacked poor Scarlett. ‘Knocked silly, she staggered backward, then lost her balance and fell off the low platform they were standing on.’
I guess this tells us that Iron Man and Black Widow share scenes in costume.
Basically, I’m so excited for The Avengers, I’m willing to pass on any scrap of news about it until it comes out.
Madhouse’s exceptional X-Men anime will finally be here October 21st on G4. After watching the series this past Spring from Japan (you can read parts 1 and 2 of my review here), I’ve been dying to see what the North American audience reaction will be. According to Marvel, both the Iron Man and Wolverine anime series have been a huge ratings boost for G4 in the 11 PM – 2 AM time slot – “jumping +50% over the August 2010 time period average with homes and climbing +75% among Total Viewers.”
“Actor Scott Porter takes on the voice of Cyclops in “X-Men,” the optic-force blasting deputy leader of the team. In the series, the X-Men are reunited following the death of a teammate, and are summoned by Charles Xavier to track down Hisako Ichiki, a missing teenage girl in Northern Japan. There, they encounter the fanatical and anti-mutant group, the U-Men, and discover what was important enough for Xavier to bring them back together. The answer is something that could potentially bridge the gap between mutants and humans, or tear the two species apart forever. ”
Personally, I feel that X-Men has been Marvel’s strongest anime series thus far. The characters were pretty well fleshed out and the story had me hooked by the end of episode two (a feat for an anime considering they generally take several episodes just to “get going” on the plot end of things). I was also extremely pleased with the animation and artistic direction.
Episode One begins with Phoenix – how awesome is that?!?
Here’s the awesome intro that ran in front of the series in Japan:
So, make sure to check out the X-Men anime this October 21st on G4. Later this Winter we’ll also get to see Marvel’s fourth anime production – Blade.
Going into this summer’s blockbuster season X-Men: First Class was not only one of the films I was most looking forward to but also the one I worried the most about. X-Men and X2 are two of my favorite films but the instant Bryan Singer left to focus on rebooting the Superman franchise everything seemed to fall apart. X-Men: The Last Stand was a disaster and X-Men Origins: Wolverine was hardly the apology that I was looking for.
The idea behind X-Men: First Class has been kicking around for ages but much like the purposed Star Trek series Starfleet Academy it never seemed like it would ever come to fruition. The problem was that The Last Stand ended in such a way that there was really no way to move the franchise forward. First Class isn’t a reboot; it is Bryan Singer’s attempt to salvage the series he helped make a critical and financial success. The story is essentially an extended version of the origin story of Erik “Magneto” Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the events that lead to the establishment of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters that was hinted at in Stinger’s original X-Men (and long since established in the pages of the comic book). Set in the 1960s, the film is also a Cold War drama and director/writer Matthew Vaughn’s tribute to Sean Connery’s James Bond films. To some the setting might seem a bit unusual, but considering the X-Men made their comic book debut in 1963 and were a direct reaction to the racial and political tensions that defined the decade, it’s a perfect fit. It also allows the film to fit within the timeline established in the previous films. I could drone on and on about how much I enjoy this film but I’d rather you simply watch it and decide for yourself. It’s not perfect but if you haven’t given the film a chance because you were put off by The Last Stand you’re really missing out on something special.
Watching the film again on Blu-ray is as pleasing as it was seeing it in theaters. The picture and audio quality is excellent and recreates the cinematic presentation perfectly. The bonus are exclusive to the Blu-ray release and while I would have loved an audio commentary from Vaughn and Singer they both make appearances in the 69-minute documentary Children of the Atom as well as the additional 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage included in the X Marks the Spot viewing mode. There are also a handful of extended scenes and a couple deleted moments (Lensherr in the Argentina airport, Kevin Bacon’s Shaw on a boat with Cuban generals and Xavier trying to seduce Rose Byrne’s Moyra).
The Children of the Atom documentary is fantastic, particularly the “Pulling off the Impossible” segment that focuses on John Dykstra’s visual effects and “Sound and Fury” which focuses on Henry Jackman’s score. Either segment could have been extended into to a feature-length documentary and I wouldn’t have complained. They do at least include the option to listen to Jackman’s score without the dialogue getting in the way.
There’s also a short featurette available to download or stream via BD-Live that extends off some of the “Dogfight” footage shown in The Children of the Atom.
All in all X-Men: First Class has been a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon. I suspect I’ll be returning to relive the experience in the near future.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #666-668 (bi-weekly series, Marvel Comics, $3.99)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Dan Slott (writer); Stefano Caselli and Humberto Ramos (pencillers); Carlos Cuevas and Victor Olazaba (inkers).
This could still go horribly wrong. THIS, of course, is “Spider Island,” the much-ballyhooed, multi-issue story line for “The Amazing Spider-Man” in which New York City is overrun by people boasting powers and abilities similar to those of our web-slinging title character.
As it turns out, the old Spider-Man villain Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, has bio-engineered bedbugs and other insect creatures that have “infected” much of the city’s population. Now millions of New Yorkers must decide what to do with the proportionate strength of a spider, the power to stick to walls and even organic webbing.
Predictably, some of them have turned to crime, and now Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and his police force are overwhelmed by hordes of ne’er-do-wells. Villains that … horrors of horrors! … have disguised themselves as various incarnations of Old Flattop’s longtime nemesis.
Luckily, the Avengers, the Future Foundation and other heroes have leapt to the city’s defense. Since they’re unable to tell which of these numerous Spider-Men is the real one, though, his teammates have cautioned him to stay out of the action. Never one to take no for an answer, Peter Parker swings into action as himself, without a costume. (Hey, HE could have gotten powers this way as well, you know! )
Meanwhile, the Jackal, the Tarantula and the Spider-King have yet to reveal what they’re really up to, aside from unleashing chaos upon the Big Apple. Then there’s Jackal’s mysterious benefactor, who must have her own motivations for funding and equipping the bad guys.
THE GOOD.
The Marvel Comics flagship title boasts some of the best art of any of the company’s books. Stefano Caselli, who drew the “prelude” issue
(No. 666) has a more refined, realistic style, as compared to the almost manga-esque, exaggerated and cartoonish work of Humberto Ramos.
You can’t lose with either one, though Ramos is doing art for six of the eight issues. Both artists’ scenes are dynamic, exciting and well-drafted. Of course, it helps that Slott has been writing this story line as if it were a blockbuster, summer action movie, which plays to both their strengths.
And while this material has its dark elements, it’s done in a pretty fun manner. This is one “event book” that never takes itself too seriously.
THE BAD.
Two words: Clone Saga. It’s already been shown that this story line is referencing that most-dreaded, nearly-title-killing run on the book. (It turns out the Tarantula is a transformed version of one of the clone characters, and Jackal was prominently featured in those earlier stories as well.)
Also, I have the distinct feeling that the person behind the Jackal might turn out to have connections to the Clone Saga. Either that, or she could have tied to a forgotten story line from the Paul Jenkins run on “Peter Parker, Spider-Man” (one that wound up giving Peter Parker organic webbing for a time, for anyone that remembers it).
THE UGLY.
Sigh. Marvel can’t have sort of “event” book or story line without having a series of crossover books to accompany it. In this case, that means there are a handful of interconnected miniseries as well as tie-in issues of the monthly “Venom” title. In fact, if you haven’t read issue No. 6 of that series, you might have missed the revelation about which Marvel hero was transformed into the Spider-King. (It’s a real shocker.)
That being said, the first issues of the “Cloak and Dagger” and “Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu” tie-in miniseries were very enjoyable.
IN CONCLUSION:
As mentioned, this could still go wrong if it’s too closely tied to the Clone Saga. However, Slott’s entire solo run on “Amazing Spider-Man,” his so-called, new “Big Time” directive for the book, has been really good. So it’s hard to believe that he won’t do something special, memorable and good with the material.
This is as good a place to start if you haven’t already done so. Together with the Ultimate Comics version of Spider-Man, there’s rarely been as good a time for be a fan of the character and concepts.
Jerk-Bot is the robotic nom de plume or Utah-based writer/reviewer Jeff Michael Vice. He would like you to listen to him rant about movies and other geeky stuff on both the Geek Show Podcast (www.geekshowpodcast.com) and the Mediocre Show (www.mediocreshow.com), as well as watch him review movies on the Xfinity On-Demand program Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/bigmoviemouthoff).