Big Shiny Robot! has a weekly column in the Salt Lake City alt-weekly IN Magazine and every week we bring it to you on the site.

If you live in the greater Salt Lake area, you can pick up a copy of IN Magazine up from one of their ubiquitous newsstands, and we would highly suggest that you do.

You can read the online version of the story here.

This week is all about getting you pumped up for the Thor film with some classic books.

You can get them all on Amazon:


You can check out the article as it was in print by clicking the image below.

In the press release sent out today for the new clip from The Clone Wars’ new episode, a bombshell was revealed. Pernilla August, who played Anakin Skywalker’s mother Shmi in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, will be reprising her role.

When asked for pictures of the character, Lucasfilm reported that they’re not letting any out until after the episode airs.

With Shmi and Qui-Gon back, this is going to be an episode that reveals quite a lot about the nature of the force and will most likely send shockwaves through the Star Wars Universe.

And the above clip is breathtaking.

A mysterious force draws Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano to the distant planet of Mortis, where Anakin learns of his destiny from a family of exceptionally powerful Force-wielders. Convinced that Anakin will bring balance to the Force, the family’s patriarch urges the young Jedi to stay and maintain the equilibrium between the light side and the dark side. Glimpses into the prophecy of the Chosen One are revealed in “Overlords,” the first chapter of a three-part Clone Wars storyline, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Friday, January 28 on Cartoon Network.

Featuring momentous revelations that could affect the fate of the galaxy and the balance of the Force itself, “Overlords” marks the beginning of a massive Clone Wars arc. There will be revelations and betrayals, as well as all-new perspectives on the very fabric of the Star Wars mythology.

“This is a very important chapter in Anakin’s development,” says Dave Filoni, supervising director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “The prophecy of the Chosen One was touched on in the films, but never like this. We’re going to look at what it means for Anakin and the galaxy. We wanted to give it the proper connection to the larger saga. I am very grateful to have Liam Neeson and Pernilla August reprising their roles from the live-action films. They are each so important to Anakin’s journey, and to have them on our series has been incredible.”

In the live-action Episodes I and II, August portrayed Shmi Skywalker – Anakin’s mother. Prompting the fateful first steps that would ultimately bring balance to the Force, she urged her young son to follow in the footsteps of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi – seeking the promise of a better life among the stars. Asked back to reprise the pivotal role, August recalls her own introduction to the Star Wars family.

“It’s funny to be asked back to do a voice for the series, because it makes me recall my screen test for Episode I, all those years ago,” she says. “I was nervous because I am from Sweden and I speak with an accent; I was afraid I wouldn’t fit in an American film. But George was so sweet to me. He said that I came from a Swedish galaxy, and it made me feel so much better. I guess anything is possible so far, far away! When I got the part, of course, I was thrilled. I knew only the legacy of Star Wars to that point. That was all any of us knew back then; we were becoming part of something tremendous. What no one could foresee was that it would continue to grow and evolve and thrive as it has, and that it would become so important to new generations. As a mother myself, this is a role that has meant a lot to me, and it is so wonderful that Shmi can live on in The Clone Wars series.”

Returning to the role of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn – who perished in Episode I at the hands of Darth Maul – Neeson remains one of the most venerated figures in the Star Wars canon. Wise beyond even the teachings of the Jedi Order, he was the first to see the potential – and the danger – in young Anakin’s future. His mentor role echoed that of Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode IV – and reflected a universal motif that runs throughout the Saga.

“There’s a nobility to [the Jedi], something classic and universal,” says Neeson. “Growing up, my heroes were cowboys; they were strong and mysterious and it seemed like they always rode off into the sunset. For kids today, Star Wars has that same kind of magic. I really wanted to be a part of that. Playing Qui-Gon was very exciting for me, and it’s nice to see that it still means so much to so many people. I remember my initial audition, before Episode I. There was no discussion of the script or the story; it was just a conversation with George, and we spent the entire time talking about our kids. At the end of the lunch, we hadn’t even touched on Star Wars – but I got the part. It’s fitting that my “audition” was based on that connection, because it’s what sticks with me still. These characters resonate with children, even after all these years.”

Lee Eisenberg is one of the writers working with Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd on Ghostbusters 3. Gene Stupnitsky being the other. Currently Lee is doing a series of lectures titled “Great Beginnings: Conversations with Alumni” at Connecticut College. While talking with The Day something came up… you guessed it, Ghostbusters 3.

“We’ve been working really closely with Ivan Reitman for a couple years on it. Dan Aykroyd has been really involved. Harold Ramis has been very involved – we’re sharing a story credit on it with him. Then we reworked the script. I mean, that script went through a lot of rewrites, and it kept getting, we think at least, tighter and funnier. It took a little bit to really understand the tone of a movie like ‘Ghostbusters.’ It’s really scary when you’re writing characters you grew up on. … The last thing you want to do is disappoint.

“Right now, we have a script we haven’t worked on probably in a couple of months, and we’re waiting for Bill Murray to read it. People seem excited about it, and the studio seems high on it. … We’re very proud of it. We worked really hard on it, and I think it’d be a really fun movie.”

So nothing new really. Every one is still waiting on Bill to say, “Alright, let’s do this.” Personally I think he will eventually “cave”, or Sony will try and push it in a different direction. At this point it sounds like the studio and every one but Bill Murray is invested in seeing this happen. Hell, even The Atlantic (seen below in the first movie’s montage) is pleading with Murray to go with it.

Make Ghostbusters 3, Bill. Please? The long-awaited, long-long-long-rumored third installment could start shooting this year—but only if you agree to appear in it. Ivan Reitman, on a recent publicity tour for No Strings Attached, said you have been sent a reworked script. They even used your idea about Venkman dying and coming back to haunt the cast, too That’s badass. You’ll be like Swayze in Ghost, dude. With Sigourney Weaver as your Demi Moore. Pretty please? Maybe you could turn the whole thing to your advantage. Back when the studios were fighting over who would make the first Ghostbusters, you used that leverage to get The Razor’s Edge financed. You could do the same now—agree to make the threequel of the studio will finance a film you do care about.

While a little misinformed (Venkman won’t be dying and coming back as a ghost), it’s still pretty awesome. Thanks to Proton Charging for letting us know about this.

Thanks to Kotaku for the images.

For those who didn’t follow it via LiveBLog last night, Sony dropped a few big announcements in their Japanese conference. I figured I’d save you the time of routing through my bad jokes about Mountain Dew and how late it was and summarize my thoughts and the overall announcement.

The first big announcement from the evening was Playstation Suite. A mobile based gaming platform that puts Playstation software onto the Android Platform. In conjunction with the Suite release they are releasing Playstation Certified, which is their way of controlling and making sure content is ready to work on ALL platforms. I never thought I’d see a gaming company give into Apple, but this in my eyes is total proof. The iPod touch and iPhone has never in my eyes been a “gaming platform” at least on a serious level. Maybe games to kill time while waiting for a class to start, or a bus, but never something that I would consider to be a dedicated gaming experience that I normally seek out. However, I do feel that Sony is smart to put their content on Android. Using cross platform they’ll be able to quickly and easily sell more content, instead of relying on the possibility of their new device being 100% successful. Judging by the release of the PSP GO which failed for multiple reasons they can use the additional income brought through the Suite to keep the content afloat. The PSP Go would have done much better if they would have provided a method for those who already had the physical copy of the game to get a digital copy. Their other huge fail was that the online marketplace did not have enough content to rival even the small library of the existing UMD games. That’s a hard sell to tell a consumer to trade in or give up their huge library of titles, re-buy what they’ve already paid for, and then add the insult of saying, but there’s a good chance a lot of those aren’t available yet. If they want Playstation Suite to succeed they need to make sure that there is a TON of digital content available. Not just piles of garbage, and not just Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, they need a huge amount of solid Playstation Titles running on mobile devices. Resident Evil, DarkStalkers, The Final Fantasy Series. Real solid games that made the Playstation console what it is.

Let’s move onto the big announcement. Code name NGP for Next Generation Portable. Releasing in the Holiday season (for Japan presumably, they weren’t too forward with the international details.) Packing a powerful A9 4 core processor, 2 mics, 2 cameras, 2 analog sticks, teh wifi’s, 3g, blu-tooth, a full touch screen on front, a full touch pad on back for control. It’s an amalgamate of every internet rumor we’ve seen for the past 6 months. Using flash based memory and of course access to the Playstation Suite this system will game with graphics better than the previous PSP of course, and visuals just below the PS3. Judging by the videos posted last night at Kotaku via UStream the visuals do look pretty promising. Here’s a hardware cheat sheet from Kotaku to catch you up on the Specifications of this nifty gadget.

First of all I will predict a United States Price of 299.99. With all the hardware they’re packing there is no way that Sony can match the Nintendo 3DS price of 249.99 and stay profitable matching price would also weaken their claims that this is the best tech on the market when it launches with better hardware than Nintendo’s (which has been their marketing angle in the past). Plus… the amount of hardware that Sony is loading on doesn’t come cheap, $299.99 would still be a subsidized price.

Here is my initial impression of the handheld. It’s a lot of awesome, with a few bad features, and not enough software support out the door. Every game shown last night was either a tech demo of a current PS3 game running on the system, or a port of one that was being developed with “new control style”. That’s what Nintendo did with the Wii and it worked great for mom dad and younger daughter, but their is no way that that same audience will drop $300 on a handheld that ports rated M games from a more mature game system. I’m hoping that actual real software support hits the PSP2 or NGP or whatever they decide to call it by launch. Not just ports but new IP that we can all play, enjoy and sink our teeth into. The second main concern I have with the handheld is the touch pad on the back. Let me reference the Motorola Backflip. This handy phone had a touch pad on the back used to navigate menus when you didn’t feel like utilizing the touch screen. It’s precarious position basically caused you to move the cursor all over the place even when you didn’t want to. Enter the NGP with the same style interface, I’m using their new interface to comment on a friends gaming habits, aaaand my cursor jumps out of the text box. I’m running through an intense battle in Kill Zone, aim and shoot, aim and wait…. why is my guy spinning around… DAMN YOU TOUCH PAD! I really think putting in the touch pad wasn’t the best move.

Finally I think the location based gaming is going to be pretty sweet. Using GPS location and the ability to transmit your gaming information to a central source, will allow others to see what communities and neighborhoods are playing on their NGP. It’ll be huge in Japan, not so sure how well it will work stateside where our gaming audience seems to be more introverted and less interested in what everyone else is playing, and more focused on what they can do to make those guys look bad.

Anywho, I think the future will bring interesting news for us in regards to the NGP, and that Sony is trying something different from a digital release side.

Think I’m wrong? Agree with me? Make yourself heard below.

Here is Sony’s release trailer for the system.

It pains me to do this, it really does, but there’s a wishful thinking side of me that hopes this is true . . .

Over at ComicBookMovie.com, a reader sent them a “scoop” that could possibly elude to the rights of the Daredevil character reverting back to Marvel studios:

I was looking for something on Wikipedia and I wanted to check something on Daredevil and this is what caught my eye…

“In February 2010, reboot news was further reported by Deadline Hollywood who announced 20th Century Fox and New Regency are looking to develop the reboot with News Corp. Vice President Peter Chernin producing and David Scarpa writing the script. Intentions are said to move forward so that the film rights to the character would not revert back to Marvel. 20th Century Fox has lost intrest in the film and the rights have reverted back to Marvel Studios.”

Fox has done next to nothing with the property and it has been eight years since the film was released. Usually written into these contracts is that the studios must utilized these properties to keep the rights (i.e. make a film every [blank] years), and it has been quite a while since we have even heard any rumors about a new DD film. Keep in mind though, this is something that was stumbled upon in Wikipedia, and when I checked it out for myself it said exactly as it does above, but there is no citation as to where this information may have come from.

I would love for the DD rights to revert back to Marvel. This would be the best chance of this character getting into some very capable hands and getting a potentially awesome movie franchise off the ground. Not to mention, theoretically if the rights to Daredevil are back at Marvel, he could exist in the same movie-world as Iron Man, Thor, Cap, etc. now! Even just the thought of a Daredevil cameo in an Avengers movie or tie-in character film gets me excited.

That all being said, and being that this “story’s” source is Wikipedia, we did a little digging (and math!) with the help of our favorite movie critic, Jeff Vice (Jerk-bot). Jeff is pretty certain that the deal FOX signed for Daredevil was a 7 year deal, meaning, if the movie was released in 2003 the rights would have indeed reverted back to Marvel by now . . . BUT! (there’s always a ‘but’) The Elektra movie, which was released in ’05 and included a Matt Murdock cameo, is tied in with the Daredevil rights – meaning that the contract is up at the end of 2012.

So, it begs the question. To get a Daredevil film out before the end of next year, FOX would need to start moving pretty quickly on one, and there hasn’t been much said about this franchise in the last few years, so are they going to allow the contract to lapse? In the meantime, the way we figure it here at BSR!, it appears the rights do still belong to FOX, but may be expiring next year, and that’s when the rights would revert back to Marvel.

Barring any unreleased news that FOX has relenquished the rights ahead of schedule, it appears the rights remain at 20th Century Fox for the time being.

Well, in case you haven’t heard the news, one of the famous Fantastic Four has left this mortal coil… for now. I wanted to somehow make a Secret Origin tribute for the guy, but well. everyone pretty much knows the origin for the Fantastic Four. In fact I can tell it pretty quickly. The foursome went up into space to beat the Russians, they got hit with mysterious cosmic rays, and they all came back with strange and different abilities. Yes, that’s how the story played out in the “main” reality, but if you read comics for any length of time, you’ll find there are “alternate realities” much like our own, but sometimes vastly different. This is one of those tales. Strap yourself in to your poorly shielded spacecraft and enjoy… The Secret Origin of the Human Torches!

Like I mentioned above, the origin starts out exactly the same, but when the craft gets back to earth we start to see the differences, well maybe not at first:

"Sure, you can fly, but you seem to be burning off all your fuel!"

“Normal”, right? Well, as alluded to in the caption there, everyone else in the group starts to immolate. The four’s panicked ramblings as they transform are probably just what you’d exclaim if you spontaneously combusted, but no worries! It leads to a dynamic group shot!

Hey narrator guy, since when is 4 people with the same power unique?

After this twist of fate, the four act much like the Fantastic Four you’re familiar with. They decided to use their abilities for great justice. They have nearly identical adventures as “our” FF. They fight the Mole Man and his minions and even encounter the Skrulls and convince them to become cows (long story). When it come to their third documented adventure though, things change drastically! A powerful Hypnotist called the Miracle Man brings a monstrous statue to life to show the world his superiority! How a hypnotist can do this is never explained, even in our reality. Anyway, heroes in more than name only, the FFF (Flaming Fantastic Four) make the scene to stop the apparent rampage. Reed Richards (the white-hot one) spots the monster first and mentions since it is in an abandoned section of the city, they can really cut loose with their flame. This is, of course, wholly irresponsible. It turns out in one of the “abandoned” buildings at least one family lives within, and the young daughter is playing at home! Back to the battle, he four make pretty short work of the monster, seeing as he’s just wood and plaster. Because of the flame fueled fracas, the neighborhood has been set afire. What happens next is evidence that the Reed Richards of this reality may not quite have the ethics as ours does…

Always listen to the heart of the team, geniuses.

So the quartet leaves the scene, and what happens next is pretty apparent, so I’m not even going to tell it. Suffice it to say, I hate when children are harmed in any fantasy medium, and the fact that this is due to negligence makes it worse. The Torches end up subduing the Miracle Man by blinding him. I would make a point as this is also irresponsible, but that’s how they beat him in our reality as well. Ready to celebrate their victory over their toughest foe yet, the “heroes” are informed by the police on the scene that bad things are going down in the building they were just at. It seems their fray has caused the entire neighborhood to go up in flames. I wonder how the heck that happened. They get back to their folly and the guys start absorbing the excess flames into their bodies, while Sue Storm searches the buildings. Guess what she finds? Let her reaction speak for itself.

Yeah, that's about the reaction I'd expect.

This is obviously something that affects the group irrevocably. They managed to save the firemen, but the cost is too high. The child’s mother is on the scene and accuses the FF of murder. And while I could say it’s partly her fault for leaving a kid unattended, she is pretty justified. Sue agrees, and carries the burden forever. Even though the FF are cleared of any wrongdoing, the aftermath of this event changes the lives of the foursome pretty drastically. The Torches break up and go their separate ways. Sue becomes a nun, Johnny because a fearless racer driver, Reed devotes himself to science, and Ben comes out of the ordeal a member of the Avengers.

Somehow, I don't think being an Avenger is proper penance.

And so it ends… To be honest, this origin was picked just to show a contrast to “our” Human Torch. Sure, he can be a brash, pig-headed, sometimes even a bit of a douche, but he’s also the heart of the FF. He pulls them together through the rough times, and is truly a valued member of comics’ First Family. We don’t know how the Fantastic Four will fare without him, but until he inevitably returns (comics, guys), his absence will certainly be felt. Rest in peace, Johnny.

This story was originally published in What If… Volume 2 #11, March 1990.

StarWars.Com released sometime today this new clip from the fifteenth episode of season three. I really couldn’t contain myself watching this clip.

It’s from the episode airing on Friday and is the beginning of the “Mortis” trilogy. It also features the appearance of Qui-Gon Jinn on the series. We reported about that earlier in the week.

This clip raises so many unanswered questions, but most of all, what is this being that is beyond a Jedi and Sith and can touch a lightsaber with his bare hands? And what does this purport to tell us about the path of The Chosen One?

We’ll see on Friday night when this new episode airs and hopefully we’ll have another taste from Lucasfilm in a day or two. But what can the revelations of these episodes tell us about the nature of the Force? And will it jive with the Expanded Universe? Should we even care?

Its been teased for months. The story has been building for a year and a half. Did Fantastic Four #587 deliver? Well I am of two minds about this. Lets start with the bad. Everything about this whole ordeal not having to deal with the actual issue itself has seemed pointless and over hyped. Originally announced that the issue itself will come in a polybag sporting the “3” logo so as to not spoil the “surprise” of who was going to die was sort of cool to me, even though it was a blatant rip off of another super-hero death from not too long ago. Then you make that whole idea moot by having the big press circus spoiling it before anyone has had a chance to read it. That actually annoyed me to no end. Marvel, you really need to stop with the hype machine.  However if all the bad I can get out of this is just an annoyance then thats ok.

When it comes to this issue the good far outweighs the bad! This story which Hickman has been crafting since he started his run on this book has been pretty fantastic, pun intended. The concepts and ideas introduced in his run make me believe that not only does Hickman think outside the box, he cuts the tape, breaks it down, and constructs a whole new box. Not only has he mangaged to make me do a Keanu-like “Whoa” with all of his concepts in this book, but he has taken these characters which I’ve only mildly cared about in the past and made me absolutely love them. The story of “3” has focused on the team which has been taking care of separate crisis happening simultaneously.

Susan Richards has been acting as a sort of ambassador mediating between “Old Atlantis” and Prince Namor’s kingdom. Namor being his stubborn self wants to go to war with “Old Atlantis.” Susan becomes Queen of “Old Atlantis” and puts Namor in his place saying that they are under her protection.

Reed on the other hand is trying to resolve a situation on Nu-Earth. Introduced in Mark Millar’s run on FF, Nu-Earth is an artificial planet created for humanity to live on when Earth eventually dies. It is powered by the dead husk of Galactus from the future. Silver Surfer, who is once again herald to Galactus, discovers this and is not pleased. His master is even less pleased and moves to destroy Nu-Earth giving Reed little time to save anyone from its destruction.

The last bit of this story is the real meat and potatoes. It is an awesome buddy story of the Thing and the Human Torch. It starts with Ben Grimm taking a serum which allows him to return to human form for one week a year. Johnny decides to take Ben out for the time of his life. If you could describe their relationship in one word it would be “Bro-Mance.” Their good times are interrupted  when a new Annihilation Wave starts to invade from the negative zone through the portal located in the Baxter Building. To close the portal it needs to be closed from the terminal located on the other side of the portal in the Negative Zone. Johnny ends up being the one to make that sacrifice as he tosses Ben back through the portal and closes it behind him. Uttering, for presumably the last time, his catch phrase “Flame On” he takes on the the entire Annihilation Wave only to be massively overwhelmed.

Now when it comes to death in comics people, including myself, are always of the mindset “Oh its comics they’ll be back in no time.” Now that may be the case here as Johnny’s “Death” isn’t very clear, we just see him get caught up in the onslaught of Annihilus’s army. However I don’t care. I don’t care if there is a death, or a resurrection, or if he’s only presumed dead. I thought he had the heroes death he deserves, even if its not clear if he is really dead.  If the writing stays as good as this I will keep buying into this. The series will end with issue #588, but Hickman is helming a new series titled “FF” that is slated to start up in March. I highly recommend reading this story as my description is only a bare bones synopsis. Actually go pick up the trades collecting Hickman’s run, there are three of them out right now which leads up to this last story and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

On September 14, 2008 Scholastic Books released “Hunger Games”. Since its release there are 3.3 million copies in print in the United States, and it has been licensed in 41 countries. Lions Gate films announced today that it will be releasing the film adaptation on March 23, 2012. HeatVision Blog reported the following:

By going out in theaters in late March, Lionsgate is looking to prosper from spring break and the Easter holiday (Easter Sunday falls on April 8 in 2012). So far, Hunger Games has the March 23-25 weekend to itself.
While teenagers make up the core demo of the Hunger Games franchise—divided fairly evenly among females and males—Collins’ books resonate with adults as well.
Set in post-apocalyptic America, Hunger Games introduces 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen, who must participate in a fight-to-the-death annual event called the Hunger Games. The battles are televised, and pit youths from each of the Capitol’s 12 Districts against each other.
Nina Jacobson is producing Hunger Games via her Color Force banner.
Lionsgate nabbed worldwide rights to the much-anticipated film project last year.
Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) is set to begin shooting the film in late spring or summer, although no cast has been announced, including the coveted role of Kantiss.
Hunger Games will open one week after Sony debuts 21 Jump Street (March 16, 2012), and one week before the bow of Warner Bros.’ Clash of the Titans 2.

Judging by the volume at which the book sold, the speed the Mrs. blasted through the trilogy, and by the release date scheduling, I think the film will do exceptionally well. I’m kinda feeling that we may have another book trilogy gone movie trilogy coming soon.

Scarlet Robotica has a detailed analysis posted here. and as always post your thoughts below and keep checking back for more news.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Archie Comics is back in a big way. Their aggressive marketing and new approaches to the digital age have made people who would have normally blown off the venerable publisher take notice. One of the things that has been the most pervasive is the storyline featuring President Barack Obama and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.  This issue finishes that storyline, with a bit of mixed results.

Previously (and recapped very nicely in the book in case you missed last issue), Archie and Reggie were running for class president, and their prospective campaign managers got the bright idea to have them pose for pictures with the previously presented politicos. This kind of blows up in their faces in true Archie fashion, and the two VIPs find time in their busy schedules to come to Riverdale and sort the mess out.

Therein lies the only issue I had with the story, but it’s kind of a big one. With the media blitz that happens when all of this hits the fan, the book quickly becomes “Obama & Palin visit Riverdale with some redhead to the side” There are a few pages of tv-style interviews and they really annoyed me. They were full of beating around the bush an the sort of rhetoric I am not fond of in real life. I can say that at least it is accurate.

Thankfully, Archie and the gang take the stage soon after all this, realizing they’re responsible for this mess, so they need to fix it. In the meantime, an informer calling himself “Sore Throat” informs President Obama as to the true character of Reg and Arch. Eventually, confrontations are had between the candidates and the politicians. The book really shined for me here. Obama’s speech to Archie struck a chord with me, it was all about personal responsibility and being accountable. Reggie too has a powwow with Palin, with slightly different results (this is Reggie Mantle, after all). Everything works out in the end, and lessons have been learned.

All in all, I was prepared to not like this issue at all. I dislike stories that seem driven by shock or event value, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the way everything played out. The art too, is also a treat. Dan Parent is probably my favorite artist in the Archie stable, his renditions of Palin and Obama are immediately recognizable, yet they never devolve into caricatures of themselves. I would say if you’re curious, pick it up. It’s definitely worth it.

Archie #617 goes on sale tomorrow, January 26th for $2.99 at finer comic shops everywhere.