This month, we discuss the finer points of why Mr. Sinister should be in the next X Men film, how The Avengers changed our lives forever, the return of Toonami, and the terror that is zombies eating faces. On “Ask the Girlcast,” we cover some of the places you can meet geeky girls and how to strike up a suitably awesome conversation.

Listen here or Download from our Big Shiny Robot iTunes feed. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook Page and follow our geeky musings on Twitter: @BSRGirlcast

On this month’s podcast:

Darcy – The Geekiest Girls You Know

Jessie – Miss Mecha – Big Shiny Robot

Kelly – Scarlett Robotica – Big Shiny Robot

E3 is here!!! This is like Christmas in June for those of us that follow video games. We’ve got at least three ‘bots on the scene and BSR! will be bringing some extensive coverage. As per usual with VGQH, I’ll link you to their stories for all the details, but you can get the basics right here. Starting with Sony’s press conference which I watched live last night on G4.

For me, the highlights were Beyond from Quantic Dream and the announcement of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation for PS Vita. Seriously, anything from Quantic Dream and David Cage has my attention immediately. Also, I really enjoyed AC: Bloodlines on PSP. So a white Vita packaged with our first female (French-African) assassin probably just sold me on Sony’s new handheld in October. Which, by the way, will start supporting PSOne Classics this summer.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Click the link above and read Zombietron’s full report, I’m just handling highlighting:

• Jack Tretton loves “exclusive” – he also had the best suit of the night (it’s a weird thing I notice).
• PSOne Classics are coming to Vita, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII were mentioned specifically.
• Call of Duty: Declassified was shown for Vita. Looks like Call of Duty, on a Vita. Yawn.
• Quantic Dream’s Beyond, starring Ellen Page looks fantastic, but how and what do you actually control?
• Actual PS All-Stars Battle Royale gameplay was shown. Looks chaotic. Nathan Drake (duh) and Big Daddy (huh) were announced.
• ACIII and Liberation were both discussed. Hardware bundles for PS3 and PS Vita, respectively. Captaining a ship as Connor looked boring.
• PS+ is getting some more love. inFamous 2, LBP2, and Saints’ Row 2 will be available today. For free it appears. Look for more awesome stuff for the service soon.
• Something about Far Cry 3. I went to make more margaritas.
• Wonderbook and some spell-casting Pottermore thing was shown for Move. Live demo controls were fail. Ha ha.
• God of War Ascension: Kratos kills things. Gore and combos. Sound familiar? March 2013.
• Gameplay of Naughty Dog’s Last of Us was shown. I literally turned my head and shuddered at the violence. Not the gore, the brutality. Zombietron has the video.

Microsoft’s press conference was a little too early for me to catch. G4 ran it again after Sony’s but by this point I was a little drunk and more than a little tired. Honestly, all I really gathered from it was that Halo 4 is still their only superstar. And something new in Gears of War (Judgment). Seriously, I was half falling asleep at this point. My recollections are completely unfair. I’m sure they showed a lot more that I would have found interesting if I could keep my eyes open. I’ve done a little digging and I can give you the basics that I missed but no details:

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist debuted.
• Forza Horizon coming in October.
• XBox Live: better Bing functionality, more languages, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Machinima, Univision, NBA, NHL, ESPN, XBox Music, Internet Explorer
• SmartGlass: some kind connectivity between TVs, tablets and other devices. Potential, but I need to to know more. Watch movies or play games
  on XBox with maps or play calling on your tablet.
• Tomb Raider gameplay
• Resident Evil 6 has timed exclusive DLC.
• Dance Central 3 (surprise).
• Black Ops II timed exclusive DLC (surprise).
• South Park: The Stick of Truth (March 5, 2013) timed exclusive DLC and Kinect functionality.
• New Games: Ascend: New Gods, Lococycle, and Matter
• Fable: The Journey is October 9, 2012.

Nintendo’s event is today. I’ll miss it but you can follow along with Zombietron’s live blog.

From here out it’s going to be a little helter skelter with things from pre-E3 and during in the most reasonable manner I can construct. I apologize in advance if it looks like lunacy.

Injustice: Gods Among Us brings NetherRealm back to the DC realm. Batman, The Flash, Harley Quinn, Solomon Grundy, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more will have their own, large-scale fighting game in 2013. Ed Boon shows some excitement, and you should expect to hear more about this throughout the week.

Two more games have been announced for Move that just scream hardware bundle. Sports Champions 2 and Dance Star Party are planned for later in 2012. We’re all still waiting for something else along the lines of Sorcery to convince us that our lollipop controllers were worth the purchase.

Naughty Bear had a good concept that didn’t really come off smooth. Kind of disappointing, but it looks like Behavior Interactive wants to give it another go, albeit on a smaller scale. Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise will be coming to PSN and XBLA later this year.

We’re still awaiting confirmation on the Premium service that’s expected to be shown at E3, but it should also be mentioned that Battlefield 3 had a huge title update coming this week. The list of patches and tweaks is extensive so I’m not listing all of them. If it goes the way of most updates, just know that everything has been fixed except the one glitch you hate the most.

How big of a fanboy shill are you for Assassin’s Creed? Big enough to drop $100 on the Ubiwokshop Edition of Assassin’s Creed III? Yeah, me too. This version comes with a hardcover encyclopedia, and the 200+ page graphic novel about Subject 4. This novel combines the complete run of AC: The Fall and AC: The Chain from Daniel Cross and Nikolai Orelov. You can pre-order now, and you’ll want to do it before the Fourth of July. After that it goes up to $110. The game still launches on October 30, 2012.

SEGA also announced a collector’s edition for Aliens: Colonial Marines. This one comes with a resin figureine of a xenomorph fighting a powerloader, a USCM dossier, schematics for the USS Sephora, recruitment card, recon photo, USCM patches, graduation certificate and extra DLC – all in a special “xeno hive” box. The bonus DLC includes Cpl. Hicks, Sgt. Apone, Pvt. Hudson and Pvt. Drake; Ripley’s Flamethrower, extra Marine customization items, USCM Acadamy Firing Range level, Phase Plasma Rifle and Sonic Electronic Ball Breakers. Not a bad haul, though a price hasn’t been announced. Thos figurines are tricky. Sometimes they can produce them cheap enough for an $80 bundle, but they usually go for $100. Most of the DLC is also available as a GameStop preorder bonus. You should also expect it as paid DLC at a later date. The game releases on February 12, 2013.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was announced prior to E3, but the details were sparse and we’re expecting more at the show. For now, know that you’re playing as Gabriel Belmont again, the Belmonts are seeking to finish Dracula for good, and this is the “shocking conclusion” to the Lords of Shadow arc.

Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider reboot has finally been dated, March 5, 2013. This game looks a little better every time I see it. I’ve gone from completely bored with the concept to wondering how long it will take to reach March.

An Italian retailer had a Hitman HD Collection listed for a short time last week. This isn’t the first I’ve heard of this rumor, but it is still only rumor. With Hitman Absolution coming in November it probably makes sense to revisit Agent 47’s past sometime at the end of Summer.

The Lord of the Rings isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With The Hobbit returning the characters to the big screen this holiday season and the Guardians of Middle Earth MOBA coinciding with it you probably think you’ve seen all of their current plans. Wrong. Isn’t this franchise ripe for Traveller’s Tales to brickitize it for LEGO The Lord of the Rings? Of course it is. And it’s further along than you might expect, as it’s set for release this Fall. That’ll be two LEGO games this year (including LEGO Batman 2). They also had at least three last year, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter Years 5-7, and Star Wars III. Can they keep up this level of releases? Development should be fairly easy since you’re just skinning the engine and only need to focus on level design. But how many more franchises can they milk?

Game Informer has revealed the first game from Robotoki, Rob Bowling’s new studio. It’s zombies. That’s a good and a bad thing. Zombies are an easy sell, but they’re also getting a little tired. Human Element is going to have to bring something new to the table to really stand out. To listen to Bowling describe it, he’s got that covered. “Their greatest strength is the fear that [zombies] instill in us, the survivors, that unreasonable fear. Unreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive.” You’ll have three different classes from which to choose: Action, Intelligence, and Stealth. You’ll also choose your scenario: survive alone, with a partner, or with a child.“How you choose to start in the world will determine how you can engage and impacts the scenarios you will be presented with on a physical and morality level.” Excited? Too bad, you’re waiting until next-gen consoles in 2015.

Preorder bonuses for Bethesda’s Dishonored have been announced for the major retailers. GameStop has Arcane Assassin DLC and a deck of tarot cards; Best Buy will give you a whale oil USB lamp and Shadow Rat DLC; you’ll get the Backstreet Butcher pack from Amazon; Wal-Mart has the Acrobatic Killer pack; and Target will give you a decal for your smartphone. Good job Target. The game launches on October 9, 2012.

EA’s Press Conference Highlights – they need to work on their information security:

• Dead Space 3, February 2013. Drop-in/out co-op. Leaked info was right. Footage.
• Battlefield 3 Premium: Leaked info was right.
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted officially announced. This was leaked a while ago.
• EA now has the UFC license instead of THQ.
• Crysis 3: February 2013. Again, leaked ages ago.

Ubisoft’s Press Conference Highlights (also could use some leak protection):

• Spec-Ops: The Line getting free DLC.
• Announced Avengers: Battle for Earth. Spider-Man, Wolverine, Venom, Storm, Magneto. Fall 2012. Kinect functionality.
• Assassin’s Creed III footage. PS3 exclusive DLC
• Watch_Dogs: Techno-conspiracy thriller. Control electronics in the city for open world destruction. Total surprise. Want to hear more.
• Far Cry 3 trailer. Four-player co-op. PS3-exclusive DLC.
• Splinter Cell: Blacklist footage.

That’s all for now. Definitely keep a BSR! tab open all this week though. I’ll have highlights again on Friday, but for details as they happen, watch for Zombietron and company’s live coverage.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that Avengers 2 is now officially a “go.” With opening weekend sales well above $200 million (and that’s only in the US!) we were pretty sure this announcement was on its way.

With the current lineup set for Iron Man 3, Captain America 2, and Thor 2 – most guesses put the tentative release of Avengers 2 for sometime in 2015.

If you still haven’t seen The Avengers (are you CRAZY?) then I really, honestly am telling you that you should get out there and see what is sure to be the most awesome movie of the year. It climbed my top movies list all the way to the top 5 along with Empire Strikes Back, Last Crusade, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I spent most of the film laughing, cheering and clapping along with everyone  around me in a completely packed Los Angeles theater. The whole night was one of the best real movie-going experiences I’ve had in a long time – one where I spent every second absolutely engrossed in the film. I was actually relatively shocked after it had ended that it had really been almost two and a half hours long. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of long movies, but I didn’t want The Avengers to end.

Also, since not many people have commented on this yet, I wanted to say that I was pretty happy with Colbie Smulder’s performance as Shield Agent Maria Hill. If you haven’t seen this awesome photo circulating around the internet yet please allow me to share its awesomeness with you:

Have I really not convinced you to go see The Avengers yet? Watch this and re-consider:

Judging by the numbers it put up, it appears everyone reading this saw The Avengers over the weekend. Twice. I know I did. I also ejaculated. More than twice. More like every time the Hulk did something awesome. Which was every time the Hulk did anything. The best part is that this leads right into today’s first story.

A table based on the recent film is coming to Zen/Marvel Pinball as part of the Avengers Chronicles four pack. Sadly, we don’t have a date yet. Or, technically, a price. Somehow or another these tables will be involved with the launch of Zen Pinball 2 on PS3. I’m a little confused how that relates as it seems it will merge Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball. Which is basically what it’s always been on the 360 version. But, I think ZP2 is also coming to 360??? I’m seeing $9.99 and I’m also seeing free if you already own one. Definitely seeing Vita version is free with purchase of Ps3 version. I’m confused, but who cares. There’s a a pretty picture. And your balls aren’t silver, they’re color-coordinated so you’re actually playing as one of the Avengers and have to pick which order you use each hero.

In case you missed the announcement because you were watching The Avengers, a new event started on Ms. Splosion Man this past Saturday. The SPLOKOUR Challenge wants to see how far you can get without touching the floor; each touch to the floor results in a ten second penalty. The contest continues until May 20th, so you’ve got plenty of time to practice your SPLOKOUR moves. At the end of the promotion, the top five in the leaderboards will have chance to win the next game from Twisted Pixel and a Ms. Splosion Man plush doll. Which is actually a semi-announcement in itself. Twisted Pixel is announcing their next game at E3 on June 5th.

Harmonix is also working on a new game that hasn’t been officially announced. As you’d expect, it will be a music game. Also, with their most recent success coming from the Dance Central franchise, you shouldn’t be surprised that it’s motion-based. The big news is that it’s actually next-gen motion-based. Of course, with next-gen systems not being official yet, neither is the announcement. The information we have comes solely from a job listing.

The first issue of the Max Payne miniseries from Marvel is now available for free download. You can read it online or download a .pdf here. You can also enter to win a physical copy at the same link. The comic is written by Sam Lake and Dan Houser.

Most of you should know by now that a South Park RPG is coming from THQ and Obsidian. Parker and Stone are handling the writing to insure that it has the true South Park feel, unlike many of their other licensed games that only carried the title. In order to make the game stand out from its predecessors, it has been officially named South Park: The Stick of Truth. Unfortunately, that’s the extent of the new information I have on the game. Nothing else has come forward, just the name. I’ll get back to it when something important happens.

Ubisoft has been hinting at the long-awaited sequel to Beyond Good & Evil for years. From simply encouraging fans to buy the PSN/XBLA release of the first game so they could gauge excitement levels, to then announcing that Rayman Origins needed to make a lot of money to fund the project, they’re clearly indicating it’s a possibility but that they’re afraid of the money side. According to recent comments from Michel Ancel, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in creation stage. No idea what that means, as it doens’t sound the same as production. However, we do know we won’t see it very soon, as like Harmonix’s next game, they’re planning it for next-gen. According to Ancel, “it’s a very ambitious game and we need some tech to achieve that ambition.” He didn’t mention which next-gen consoles, as he hasn’t seen the tech for them and he doesn’t want to lose focus by making those decisions now. He elaborated by saying the team will “focus on the game. We create it first, then we’ll see what can run it. We don’t say 2013 because we don’t know when it will come. We’re working to create a great game and it needs more tech.” Ancel also indicated that control of the player character would be parkour in nature, much like Prince of Persia or Assassin’s Creed. Since his statements, a single screen shot has been making the rounds on the internet, supposedly from the long awaited sequel.

Agent 47’s Facebook page is proclaiming an announcement will be made this Thursday, May 10th. Actually it’s the Hitman Facebook page, but whatever. Of course, whenever a publisher tries to announce something major, someone else leaks it. An ad from an upcoming issue of Game Informer exposes the announcement with a more elaborate version of their teaser photo. This is related to Hitman Absolution, but it looks to be a standalone game. Apparently you’ll be able to access Hitman: Sniper Challenge by pre-ordering Absolution at GameStop. It certainly looks to just be a leaderboard game, but you may be able to unlock weapons or other items for Absolution. Here’s the leaked photo and the “official” one as well.

The $99 XBox 360 deal I mentioned last week has launched. The 4GB console has an incredibly low entry price, but you’ll be contracted to pay $15/month for your Gold membership for two years. Your two year total is $459. Buying at the standard retail price and paying the typical membership fee is $40 cheaper. Depending on your financial means and savvy, this may be an acceptable way to get the 360 you’ve been wanting. I call it a rip-off, but I’m probably being unfair. The deal is now live on Microsoft’s official site where you can pick up a voucher to redeem at an official store in the U.S. Not sure which stores in your area are “official?” Try this handy link. This still raises next-gen questions in my mind. How many stories have mentioned next-gen systems today alone? Microsoft and Sony refuse to talk timelines for their next consoles, but plenty of rumors are pointing at 2013, if not by the end of this year. Is now really the time to contract yourself into 2014 on a current console? Is Microsoft committing to the 360 through the next two years, or is this a shady maneuver to keep people paying for old tech after they release the new stuff in 12-18 months?

After being outed on Amazon, Activision has made an official announcement about Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse. Activision’s Executive VP, David Oxford, said that “Fans of Family Guy will love that we’ve taken some of the series’ most iconic and memorable moments and built them into an impressive and uncensored video game Anyone who watches the show will appreciate how much we have adhered to its rich and twisted universe and characters.” Writing and voice talents from the show have apparently been tapped for the game, though no furthe details are available yet. It is expected to launch in Fall 2012.

During a recent earnings call with investors, EA has confirmed that we will see new releases in the Need for Speed and Dead Space franchises this year. No news about the games was announced. It’s just an investor call, not a press release. To recap what we know about them: Dead Space 3 is expected to feature an ice planet and a “Shadow Isaac” that mocks his actions and gives insight into his fractured mental state. EA has also discussed moving the franchise into different genres, though the idea of Dead Space 3 as an FPS is unfounded for now. At least one retailer has started taking pre-orders on Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2. However, no other news has come forward about it so the subtitle may not be accurate.

Finally, they aren’t new games, but they are great games – and they’re only $1.00. PixelJunk is having an anniversary sale! Q Games is turning ten, and PixelJunk is turning five, so they’re celebrating by giving you some of the PSN downloadables for only $1.00. PJ Monsters, Racers, Eden, and Shooter are on crazy sale with today’s store update. PJ Monsters Deluxe for PSP, Shooter 2, and Sidescroller are also being reduced by 50%. The PJ games are some of the best-reviewed titles the PSN has, and getting them for one measly dollar should be abig deal. Unless you’ve already bought them all. The sale only lasts for a week so you’ll need to snap up your choices quick-like (as in immediately for me, since I’ll be out of the country starting tomorrow). Of course, when this sale ends, PixelJunk’s newest game, 4AM, will be launching on May 15th.

That’s it for today. And, for me and VGQH, that’s all until May 22nd (or May 25th if I’m too busy when I get home). As you just saw in the last story I am taking a long-awaited trip. I’ll be visting Ireland for ten days. It’s a good time of year for VGQH to take a break, since most of the major news is being held until E3 the first week of June. You should still keep an eye on Big Shiny Robot! while I’m gone. Most of these smaller stories I round up a couple of times a week will likely get skipped, but anything major will still be covered by our other gaming ‘bots. Until I return with a definitive answer about the best way to enjoy a Guinness, Sláinte!

UPDATE 05/07/12 2:35pm MT: The official numbers are in, and The Avengers actually pulled in a bit more than estimated! $207.4 million is the official domestic take for May 4-6!

Joss Whedon, Disney, and Marvel officially have a mega-hit on their hands with Marvel’s The Avengers!

Leading up to the US opening of the film last week, it was reported that pre-sale ticket sales were already huge, and that momentum carried on through the weekend. Starting with midnight screenings The Avengers brought in an impressive $18.7 million, totalling to $80.5 million for all day Friday, $69.7 million on Saturday, and a projected $50.1 million on Sunday – bringing the total to $200.3 million, handily breaking the opening-weekend record previously held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with $169.1 million. Adding this domestic figure to the amount The Avengers has made internationally after 12 days of release brings the global total to $641.8 million (the film cost around $220 million to make)!

Both critics and audiences have been heaping praise on this movie, and I think these numbers just add to the hype fact that this is just a tremendous film. Of course, these figures bode well for the Marvel movie franchise as they move into what they are calling “Phase 2”, with sequels planned for Iron Man (which actually begins shooting next month), Captain America, Thor, and of course, a second Avengers film.

I, like so many of you, caught a midnight showing and plan to see it at least two more times. Seeing a film of this magnitude, bringing all of those other films together, and so well executed almost almost brought tears of joy to my eyes. I grew up reading the comics, playing with the action figures, watching the cartoons – and to see all of these elements brought together larger than life on the big screen it such a way was damn-near overwhelming. I believe a film such as this doesn’t set these types of records unless it is deserving of it, and I assure you, what Joss Whedon and company have done here is very deserving of the audience they brought in in one weekend.

I don’t believe it’s an exaggeration when I say a new bar has been set for superhero films, including The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man due for release later this year. While I have very high hopes for Nolan’s conclusion to his Batman trilogy (The Dark Knight Rises brought in a whopping $158.4 million on its opening weekend), I don’t know if it will be able to beat this new record set by The Avengers – but then again, no one predicted a $200 million plus weekend for this film, so anything is possible!

Welcome to the Summer movie season folks, it’s off to an amazing start!

Be sure to check out our reviews of Marvel’s The Avengers by CitizenBot and Swank-mo-tron, and come discuss the film in our Open Thread!

Recently, Moviefone posted an article called “One Girl’s Guide to ‘The Avengers,’: What You Need to Know if You Know Nothing,” and geek girls everywhere picked up their torches and pitchforks and vilified the author.

The article takes the perspective that a gal has no interest in seeing a superhero movie unless her boyfriend persuades her to go.  And, to help with understanding the various characters in the film, she offers “cocktail introductions” to help the poor ignorant gals who know nothing about comics.  (I’m being sarcastic).

The article didn’t offend me, but by the time it came across my radar, the editor had already updated it with a note indicating it was satirical.  And I can kind of see how it was meant to be so.  Even if it were serious, I still doubt it would have offended me.  Everyone knows that women can like comic books, and female fandom is far larger now than it was in the days when I attended my first Dragon*con.  So why get so riled up about it?

I think, in general, geek fandom has mostly ignored females.  Marketing is usually directed at males, focusing on scantily-clad, big-busted women.  There are a lot more action figures than, say, Barbie dolls based on comic book movies.  (And yes, I know girls play with action figures, too, and boys play with dolls.  I’m just providing a possible marketing perspective).

And I know I’ve often had a lot more difficulties finding the female characters in a film than the male characters.  A lot of times this is because the manufacturers think fewer girls will buy the toys and therefore create less.  I never did own an April O’Neil action figure.  She was nowhere to be found, so I had to use cardboard and markers and created my figure when my brother and I played TMNT.  It was kind of sad, looking back.  But I think things are slowly changing.  I was in Toys R Us just yesterday and saw a Queen Amidala figure.  So either things are improving or that was just because The Phantom Menace came out in 1999.  Not sure which.

So, the article hit a sore spot with fans.  And I’m sure there’s a different reason for everyone who responded as to why it got them so riled up.  But it did open up some dialogue, and that’s usually never a bad thing.

Now, Film School Rejects has posted what appears to be a response to the Moviefone piece, and this takes the female ignorance of superheroes to a whole new level.  Written by a guy pretending to be a gal, it’s obviously meant to be humorous.  Again, people were offended, but I read some of the descriptions out loud and thought they were hilarious.  And there may be people out there, male or female, who are completely out of touch with the superhero world.   It’s scary to think that, but it can happen.   But even I, who rarely reads a comic book, am fairly familiar with the Marvel world.  And even DC.

So let’s be clear on one thing:  women can like geeky things.  We all know this.  Why, we have the Big Shiny Girlcast podcast that is made up entirely of the women of Big Shiny Robot!  We may not all like the same geeky things (I’m less into comics and video games and way more into Star Wars and books and TV shows), but it’s not a man’s world anymore at the conventions.  We are there, beating you at Dragon*con Star Wars trivia.  Twice.  (Not that I’m boasting or anything). We are making dresses that look like the TARDIS or R2-D2.  We are carrying cleverly painted Nerf weapons and wearing peace-bound swords and we are awesome because of it.

And no article on the internet, whether sincere or tongue-in-cheek, is ever going to change that.

So, forgive my “mistake” yesterday regarding the original Black Widow being in Joss Whedon’s Avengers film. Of course I knew that was the case, and just used it as an excuse to showcase an otherwise obscure and offbeat character. Now, when it comes to the “real” Black Widow, her comic origin is actually pretty convoluted. The movies thankfully make it incredibly succinct. Essentially, she was a Russian spy, met Hawkeye, and had a change of loyalties. The comics had her on a nearly 8-year journey to end up on the side of the angels full-time. As such, it’s really difficult to pin down an origin issue for her, per se. Instead, We’ll be looking at the moment where Natasha Romanov emerges from her cocoon and because the Black Widow we know today. Enough mixed metaphors, let’s get on with the Secret Origin (kind of) of The Black Widow!

As our tale begins, Black Widow is observing Spider-Man swinging across the New York City skyline, as he likes to do. The Widow is apparently looking to re-invent herself as is looking to the wall-crawler for inspiration. I guess that makes sense. They’re both kind of spidery, after all. As such, she decides to learn the secret of Spidey’s powers so she can make them her own. Instead of actually going and you know doing that though, she swings into the apartment she apparently keeps for herself. It’s there where she laments on her convoluted past. This means we get a handy montage/flashback so I don’t have to explain it all to you guys!

Natasha continues to get her reminisce on, recounting her romance with Hawkeye, how Nick Fury recruited her on her first S.H.I.E.L.D. mission that ultimately resulted in the death of her husband… So um yeah, I’d probably be having a bit of an identity crisis myself. To wit: Natasha decides her jet-setting Madame Natasha persona isn’t getting her anywhere, so it’s time to focus on being the Black Widow. What better way to do that than an impromptu costume change!

And so, with an outfit from the Emma Peel catalog, Black Widow sets out to catch Spider-Man in her web. This is actually a bit odd to me. Her whole deal for hunting down Spidey is to find out his shtick, but she already seems to be aping it pretty well. In fact, she’s doing such a fine job imitating the web-head that a certain crotchety publisher makes a (chauvinistic) note about it…

Since this is a Marvel comic, and coincidence is the word of the day, it doesn’t take too long for the Widow to encounter Spidey. Not one for formal introductions, Natasha announces herself in a way only she can…

What follows is an interesting cat & mouse game between two spiders. Now, it should be noted that Spidey’s not exactly bringing his ‘A’ game here. Last issue the Kingpin knocked his keister around pretty good, and he’s having some performance issues due to grogginess. With the playing field relatively even, Spidey falls back on his other great tactic, talking. Once he finds out he’s up against the widow, he pretty much point-blank asks her why they’re fighting, seeing as she’s already teamed with the Avengers at this point. The Widow isn’t really one for giving up information like that though, so she kicks the webspinner around a bit more. Because of said grogginess, he doesn’t put up much of a fight so Black Widow ends up with one trussed up spider in no time flat.

Thinking she has the upper hand, she gloats about how the vaunted Spider-Man is such a pushover. At this moment, Spider-Man decides that maybe he shouldn’t let it get out that he’s in such a bad way, so he breaks out of the Widow’s snare and pours on the bravado. The Widow takes the bait, thinking Spider-Man has just been toying with her the whole time. Simultaneously, she realises that a hasty retreat is in order, because she’s not finding out what makes the wall-crawler tick today.

Returning to her loft, the Widow ruminates on the events of the day, and starts upon the path that makes her the prominent figure she is today…

After this, Natasha would join the Champions, eventually becoming their leader. Becoming more confident in herself and her abilities, she would be Daredevil’s partner/lover for a time. After that series of adventures, she became a full-time S.H.I.E.L.D. agent & would of course come to join the Avengers on a more permanent basis, even becoming leader of that illustrious group for a time. All in all, from KGB spy to honored member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, ‘Tasha has certainly come a long way.

This story originally appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #86 July, 1970. It has been reprinted in Essential Spider-Man Vol 4. and Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 9.

This first appeared on The Huffington Post…

The Avengers is going to be the biggest movie of the summer. There’s really no question about that. Sequels always do better than their predecessors (assuming the initial movie was well-liked), but never has a movie served as the simultaneous sequel to not one, not two, not three, not four, but five summer blockbusters.

The groundwork was laid in The Avengers by two Iron Man films, a Hulk film, and last years Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. None of those films grossed less than $100 million at the box office. Two, the Iron Man films, both broke the $300 million ceiling.

There’s very clearly different audiences that will be seeing this film, each from a different flavor of fandom.

Add to that the masses looking for a fun action movie, and you’ve got a recipe for success, at least on paper.

But what about the script and the filmmakers? Studio meddling? There are a thousand things that could go wrong on a picture of this magnitude.

I’m happy to report that we’ve averted disaster and Joss Whedon’s Avengers film is a home run. It’s been almost a full week since I’ve seen it and I’ve been going through withdrawals. I need to see it again.

The thing this film has going for it, more than anything, is that it doesn’t have to stop and take time to introduce each of the characters and tell us how they all got here. Marvel has done such a thorough job establishing the mechanics of this universe that you’re giddily anticipating the arrival of each of your favorite characters and they each get a welcome to the film worthy of their stature.

The plot is basic, but it’s exactly what it needs to be. If you’ve seen a trailer you know the plot. If you know anything about Loki or saw Thor, you know why he’d be trying to subjugate the Earth. That’s it. That’s the movie.

The devil is in the details, though. This movie is about how the team comes together, overcomes their egos, and beats the odds to save the Earth.

And every moment is entertaining.

If you’re lucky, the superhero film you’re watching has at least one moment that I like to call a “Hell Yeah!” moment. Actually, I call them something else, but I self-censored just a little bit. In Spider-Man 2, you’ve got those “Hell Yeah!” moments on the subway, fighting against Doc Ock, and that moment in the boathouse when Mary Jane finally discovers Peter’s secret identity. Spider-Man 2 had more than most superhero films and it’s one of my favorites.

The Avengers gives each member of the team at least THREE of these “Hell Yeah” moments. Each.

This movie raises the bar so high for summer blockbusters that I feel awful for all the films that must follow (except for Prometheus, that movie will do fine.)

More than anything, though, is that this movie delivers on a dream we had as children, hoping one day we’d see a movie that brings all of our favorite characters together from our favorite comics on screen, fighting together. With the way Hollywood works, that never seemed like a possibility, but the stars have aligned and we’ve finally been given exactly what we wanted. Watching each character get added to the story, slowly and carefully, one at a time, we are able to get more and more excited with the thrill that A-list characters like this have never shared the screen together.

At no time does any character unbalance the film. (Though Hulk, played to perfection by Mark Ruffalo, steals the show with the best moments.) Each is in the story for a purpose and each fulfills it with flying colors. Each of the actors playing these iconic characters work in harmony to give us a movie we barely deserve. In this wasteland of horrible summer movies (*cough*Pirates of the Caribbean*cough*Transformers*cough*) we’re given a mature, well-told tale of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

It’s something to be grateful for.

Our prayers to God for a movie like this have been answered.

And our God’s name is Thor.

(Also: stay for the end-credits sequence. A lot of you won’t know what the final scenes portend, but get to your comic book store (Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!) and ask them to get you some books about the character you saw. It will be worth it.)

Bryan Young is the editor in chief of the geek news site Big Shiny Robot! and the author of the upcoming sci-fi, pulp novel Operation: Montauk.

Our good friends Jeff Vice and Jimmy Martin from The Big Movie Mouth-Off have their review of The Avengers!

Is it as good as we’re hearing? I think maybe it was. Watch their review to find out!

Hey everybody! April’s Girlcast is chock full of shiny goodness and ready for your listening pleasure!

On this month’s podcast, we love Hunger Games, can’t wait for The Avengers and really want to help Nintendo! Also, Bizzarobot returns to the ‘cast this month! Yay!

Head on over to the Big Shiny Robot iTunes page or download here. On this month’s podcast: Miss Mecha (Jessie), Scarlette Robotica (Kelly), Bizzarobot (Erin), and Darcy (from The Geekiest Girls You Know blog).

Send us your questions and comments here or over on our Facebook or Twitter (@BSRGirlcast). Thanks for listening!