Entertainment Weekly has your first look at Cap himself, Chris Evans! You can check out the issue for yourself once it hits newstands tomorrow (October 29) which includes and interview with Evans and director, Joe Johnston. You can get a tease of the article online now over at EW, and they also make it sound like there will be more pictures than that on the cover, but until tomorrow, enjoy a few excerpts!

. . . Evans — on his second tour of Marvel duty, having played the Human Torch in Fox’s Fantastic Four films — explained he was reluctant to accept the call of Captain America, in part because he had already portrayed a Marvel-ous mystery man. Of course, he also worried about the potential cost of failure, but he also worried the potential cost of fame should the movie be a hit.

“At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, ‘If the movie bombs, I’m f—-ed. If the movie hits, I’m f—-ed!’” After declining the part three times, Evans took a meeting with Marvel execs and Johnston and was dazzled by their plans for the movie. He still felt wary about suiting up for Captain America — but then he had an epiphany. “I was just scared,” he says. “I realized my whole decision making process was fear based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear.’” Evans signed a six-picture deal with Marvel to play the character, and he has no regrets: “I can’t believe was almost too chicken to play Captain America.”

The year is 1942, and Steve Rogers is a scrawny lad who desperately wants to fight Nazis for his country but can’t because he’s been deemed physically unfit. His fate — and his physique — is radically transformed when he signs up for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation that turns wimps into studs using drugs and assorted sci-fi hoo-ha. There’s a love interest (Major Peggy Carter, played Haley Atwell), there’s a sidekick (Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stans), and there’s the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Hitler’s treacherous head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a magical object known as The Tesseract (comic fans know it better as The Cosmic Cube).

UPDATE: iFanboy has a look at 8 more pictures of Cap! My favorite?:

That old school shield just made me smile….

Click over there for the rest.  (Thanks to Mandy for the heads up!)

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.

This week we take a look at the release of Kick-Ass 2 #1, by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.

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.

Click on the image below to read the article as it appears in print:

It’s time again for Tag Team Thursday, where Clobber-Tron and Shaz-Bot take one of this week’s comics and share their opinions! This week the gruesome twosome take on:

Action Comics #894

clobberTr0n: Action Comics #894 is part five of Paul Cornell’s post ‘Blackest Night’ story arc ‘The Black Ring’. This issue is apparently a big deal in some circles because ‘Death’ a female character from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series makes an appearance. I’ll admit to having read about three panels of Sandman before deciding it’s not for me, so this issue serves as an introduction to the beloved character.

Shaz-Bot: Even if you aren’t in those circles, having Death show up in a non-Vertigo book is a pretty big deal. Neil Gaiman gave his blessing for Cornell to use the character and as we’ll see, she’s treated with respect, and if we get more Vertigo/DCU crossovers, this is a good template for future writers to copy. Anyway, on to the book proper.

cT: Previously Lex was killed and this story begins with him staring at his body lying on the ground  and talking to Death who looks a little more like Ellen Page in this panel than she should. Around two pages in I think “Oh here’s another ghost of Christmas story and Lex will be shown a flashback of his life and the error of his ways” but Cornell is a little more clever than that.

S-B: I’ll admit that Pete Woods’ Death isn’t completely consistent (which is ironic, if you think about it), but I didn’t have the somewhat cynical outlook you had. My expectation was if Lex is shown a ‘This is Your Life’ type of vignette, his hubris is large enough that he’d justify every one of his actions over the years. Also, Cornell is that clever!

cT: The Dialog between Lex and Death is entertaining but her attitude towards him shifts between nonchalant and empathetic so I don’t understand what her role in the story is until I get to the end. Lex however remains bold and confident, even in the face of death he proclaims “I’ll find something to do, I’ll find something to win.”

S-B: Sometimes, a talking heads issue can get a bit on the boring side, but Cornell is masterful in his dialog, and nails both the characters of Luthor and Death masterfully. Death is a little distant as she sees this sort of thing often, and Lex, who sees himself as the absolute pinnacle of the human being, tries to do anything in his power to both figure out his situation and turn it to his advantage. In short, I think we’re pretty much in agreement here.

cT: Death finally  tells Lex he’s not dead and he wakes up aboard a helicopter realizing he’s had a life changing epiphany. The ‘epilogue’ gives us a glance at the next story arc which confusingly takes place 1000 years ago but I have faith that it will tie into this story line somehow.

S-B: I knew Vandal Savage would be one of the villains Lex crosses paths with in this arc, but the way the team seems to be going about it is pretty interesting. I’m very on board for what happens next. I wanted to point out something that you kind of glossed over when Lex wakes up. He knows what he experienced is ‘real’ and that it was important in some sort of cosmic way. I personally have no idea where Cornell is going with this, but I cannot wait to find out.

cT: The ‘Second Feature’ Jimmy Olsen’s Big Week day two was a little to complicated for me so I just scanned the pictures looking for Chloe Sullivan. I’ll read it when I eventually have the books library bound.    You have to have something to look forward to right?

S-B: Since the Jimmy Olsen feature is the whole reason I picked this book up, I’ll gladly elaborate for everyone. First, I’d like to say that while I am all for $2.99 books, I’m sad this co-feature wont last as long as it should. Sure, it’s getting a one-shot to close the story, but I would seriously pay for a monthly Jimmy Olsen book by this creative team.

When we last left out stalwart group of characters, Jimmy smugly took it on himself to stop an alien invasion. It actually turns out this the invading aliens just want to party.  They’ve been searching far and wide for a good place to get their groove on, and Metropolis’ reputation precedes it.

Cut to the Mayor’s office where Jimmy and his LexCorp opposite number, Sebastien Mallory are assigned to be co-heads of the alien delegation committee. Jimmy actually doesn’t want any part of it, but the mayor insists, since one of the aliens thinks out Mr. Olsen is cute (it’s gotta be the freckles). Jimmy calls up the aforementioned Chloe to investigate the interstellar visitors. She lives up the the plucky girl reporter archetype quite well and is already two steps ahead of Jimmy.

At the club, Jimmy does his best to entertain the lovely female extraterrestrial he’s escorting, when he hears from Chloe that the aliens come from a world where the air is a bit different. Long story short, oxygen gets these E.T.s drunk. A Bar fight ensues, and Jimmy/Hot Alien Girl #3 fly out of there in her cruiser. She drives, and drunkenly crashes the Planet building. You’d think by now they’d make that thing a hologram or something just so things like that wouldn’t happen. Anyway, Jimmy tries to explain the damage to Perry White, where Chole calls him again and tells him that these worlds the aliens like to party on don’t survive the experience. Superman’s Pal has a plan, but we’ll have to wait until next time to see what it is. I know I can’t wait!

And there you have it, if you like well crafted, character driven, or just plain awesome comics, you need to pick up Action Comics #894. Until next Thursday, clobberTr0n and Shaz-Bot, out!

This originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

Superman: Earth One is a new graphic novel out from DC Comics today and it’s unique in a lot of ways. Earth One tells the origin of Superman, but in a contemporary setting with modern take on the classic story.

To be honest, I was wary of this when I heard about it. Superman is such an iconic character and I can’t imagine anything being added to his origin that would make it resonate better with wider audiences, but this managed to take me a little bit by surprise. Though I’ve read and scene the Superman origin by dozens of creative minds (maybe more), J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis managed to breathe a new perspective into the character, full of all the classicism the character demands, but full of all the modernity required to make it fresh for a brand new audience.

Dan DiDio, the publisher of DC Comics, told me the purpose of this new iteration of the comic had a few different purposes, most notably they wanted to bring Superman to a wider audience of people who didn’t need to worry about being bogged down by years of continuity.

This is a definite advantage. I count myself as a Superman fan and sometimes keeping all of the stories and characters from the last 75 years can be incredibly difficult. Wiping the slate clean allows you to get to the heart of the character and allow you to update it without years and years of baggage. And Straczynski and Davis have managed to boil the character down to the modern equivalent of his essence and change just enough to make it unpredictable.

DiDio also described it to me as “Superman for Twilight fans.”

“You’ve got me worried now, because I actually liked this book, and if it’s for Twilight fans…”

He assured me, and I’m assuring you, that there’s nothing to worry about, I think what they meant is that this Superman is a little darker, a little edgier, a little more brooding. And for some reason brooding, which has been a mainstay of Batman’s personality for years, is now associated with the sparkle vampires of Twilight. This Superman is all about Truth, Justice, and the American Way, but he has an added layer to his struggle in that there is a vengeance he must seek out.

The plan is to put out a graphic novel set in this universe every year, bringing new readers into the fold and working hard to bring non-traditional comic readers into the story. I’m excited about it and can’t wait to read more. A Batman: Earth One book is next on deck and we’ll see more Superman next year.

I think as far as the comics medium is concerned, this is a very good move. Anything that can bring a more diverse array of readers into the medium is good news in my book. But I’m biased, I’ve been fascinated by the combination of art and literature uniquely offers us since I was just a boy.

The first book “Superman: Earth One” comes out today. DC has been kind enough to give Huffington Post readers a look at it:

Bryan Young is the editor of the geek news site Big Shiny Robot!

Christopher Nolan spoke to the LA Times’ Hero Complex and gave a few important details about his third installment to his gritty Batman franchise.

First, the title of the third film will be The Dark Knight Rises. To be completely candid here, my first thought is that the title sounds a bit cheesy – but, it does seem to fit (theme-wise) with the direction Nolan is taking this trilogy. And that’s an important thing to remember, Nolan has insisted that he will only be doing a Batman trilogy and that his story has a beginning, middle, and most importantly, an end. So, even if Warner Bros. picks up other directors to take this particular continuity further, this will most likely be the end of Nolan’s story he wants to tell.

The second important point made during this interview was not a revealing of who the villain will be, but who it won’t be, and frankly, I’m a bit surprised, but we all know Nolan tends to zig when we expect him to zag.

. . . the Gotham City auteur isn’t ready to reveal the villain of his 2012 film,  he did eliminate one of the big contenders: “It won’t be the Riddler,” Nolan said in an exclusive interview with the Hero Complex.

With all the speculation around the Riddler being the next villain and the various actors to may have portrayed him now being 100% debunked, I’m interested to see what villain the rumor mills turn to next. What villain could be made to be epic enough for Nolan’s Batman swan song? Let the guessing and rumors begin! Liz Baylen from Hero Complex seems to think Hugo Strange would be a logical choice . . .

Finally, and to me, the best news to come from this: The Dark Knight Rises will not be in 3D! Christopher Nolan convinced the studio that 3D was not suited for his film and got them to agree. So those, like me, who aren’t fans of this latest resurgence of the 3D craze can breathe a sigh of relief.

Head on over to the BSR! Forum to share your thoughts about The Dark Knight Rises and your speculation on who might be the next Batman baddy!

It’s time once again for another installment of The Big Movie Mouth Off, starring Jeff Vice from MSN and Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine (and both are regular panelists on The Geek Show Podcast)

You can friend the show on Facebook here.

These are available exclusively on Comcast in Utah.  Soon they’ll be available On Demand.  For now, they’re available nightly on Comcast Channel 6 at 11pm.  After their exclusive run there, they will be appearing on Big Shiny Robot! and across the Internet. (iTunes/podcast versions coming soon by popular demand.) They are produced and directed by Bryan Young (myself) and Elias Pate both from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

Without further delay, let’s get to the reviews:

First on the list today is “Buried”:

Next we have “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”

Jackass 3D:

“Life as We Know It”

And the piece de resistance, “My Soul To Take”

This seems like completely baseless rumour week in the world of Lucasfilm after Saturday’s New Star Wars Trilogy debacle.

Blue Sky Disney (a blogspot of some type) claims to have a source that says LFL will be announcing a 3D conversion of the Indiana Jones saga next month.  Everyone is running the story.  And I’d be glad if it were true.

But Tracy Cannobbio, a Lucasfilm spokesperson, had this to say to me:

This is completely false. Right now, we are totally focused on bringing Star Wars to 3D, and we have no plans to do an Indiana Jones conversion.

And I’m liable to believe her.

The thing I hate about this is that whenever someone starts a rumour about Lucasfilm revisiting a property, the crazies come out of the wordwork and complain about how much they used to love George Lucas properties and how sick they are of him “stealing their cash.”  It gets annoying.

Having said that, I don’t think Indiana Jones lends itself as well to 3D.  Star Wars is an effects extravaganza, Indiana Jones, for all its adventure, is pretty straight drama.  It would be a lot easier to convert, I suppose, because there isn’t as much to convert.

But with as many hands in the Indy pie (Paramount, Spielberg, Ford, Lucas, etc.) I wouldn’t expect that LFL would be able to unilaterally decide to do this.  In addition to the official Lucasfilm comment, it’s common sense that this wouldn’t be happening.

In recent years, Christopher Yost has quickly become one of my favorite comic book writers on some of my favorite titles, demonstrating a particular knack for breathing life and energy and treatability into young characters and situations, like those featured in New X-Men (one of my personal favorites), X-23 Innocence Lost/Target X (further must-reads) as well as Red Robin for DC comics.

In addition to his impressive catalog of comic book works, Yost, often alongside frequent collaborator Craig Kyle boasts an impressive track record in film and television, having filled a variety of key roles in numerous comic book related works ranging from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Fantastic Four: Worlds Greatest Heroes and his most recent foray into animated television: Wolverine and the X-Men,which hit shelves recently.

Mr. Yost was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to speak with Big Shiny Robot!

Big Shiny Robot!: You seem to straddle the comics and animation worlds fairly equally, which came first and did they naturally lead to the other?

Chris Yost: Animation came first, then comics.  The comic work came directly out of the animation through the character of X-23 that Craig Kyle created for the show ‘X-Men: Evolution’  Craig had pitched the character to Marvel for the show, and then she even showed up in a comic called NYX.  She proved popular, and Marvel was interested in doing an origin mini-series for her… and came to Craig and I for it.

BSR!: Why don’t you give us your take on the latest televised incarnation of the X-Men. What distinguishes Wolverine and the X-Men as a series from what we’ve seen before?

CY: Seeing the whole series on Blu-Ray really hit it home, but head writer Greg Johnson came up with the initial concept, and he and Craig Kyle developed the show based on the notion that a mysterious event tore apart the X-Men and Professor Xavier and Jean Grey went missing… and it was up to Wolverine to re-unite the X-Men to save the day.

What I like about it is that it flips the usual X-Men dynamic on its head.  Wolverine is usually the loner that breaks the rules, that won’t listen to the leader… and now he’s the leader.  He’s making the rules.  So seeing him relate to the X-Men, to Cyclops in this new role is something we haven’t seen before, and it was a lot of fun both to watch and to write.

BSR!: This series seemed to really up the ante for action and drama and darker tone from what we’ve seen before, are you finding children’s television a less restrictive venue for these type of stories in recent years or where you guys just testing the limits?

CY: There’s a big range of animation out there, and audiences for everything.  Wolverine and the X-Men falls somewhere between ‘Super Hero Squad’ and ‘Hulk Vs.’ where the violence and blood isn’t so evident, but it’s not for the pre-school crowd.

Wolverine and the X-Men is honestly more like the comics in tone.  There’s still fun to be had, but the X-Men story is a drama, a serial drama… watching the whole series on DVD is pretty gratifying, from a story perspective.  You’re really taking a journey with these characters.  And I think kids of all ages can find something to relate to in it.

BSR!: Super-heroes have obviously made an indelible impression on the mainstream media outside of comic books in recent years – Did this sort of “super-hero literacy” factor in to the process of writing Wolverine and the X-Men?

CY: Not really.  Each episode has to make sense, it has to tell a clear story.  We stick in some things for fans, but if you don’t recognize a character here or there in the background, it’s not going to affect your enjoyment of the story.

Watching the whole thing like this, on DVD… it’s fun to see the stand alone stories, but at the same time seeing the whole X-Men comic universe come to life.

BSR!: “The Inner Circle: Reflections on Wolverine and the X-Men” was a really in depth look at the making of the project – an incredibly passionate and talented team behind the project. What was it like working with such an experienced group of people on such an ambitious project?

CY: It was amazing.  From top down, everyone working on the show is a fan, and has a great love for the characters and stories.  It’s a passionate, creative environment, working with the best – honestly, it’s a great job.  I won’t lie.  Getting the whole series on blu-ray was just icing on the cake.

BSR!: I think I speak for a lot of people in my generation when I say that the first X-Men animated series served as a potent gateway into X-Men comics to which I am unabashedly hooked for life – As a writer for both TV and comics do you treat your work in television as a gateway to good old fashioned paper comics?

CY: I hope so.  I love comics, and like to think of the shows, which reach a much larger audience, as a first look of sorts to the comics.  If you liked this show, then you’ll love the comics… but there are kids out there today that don’t even know what comics ARE.  They know these characters from the show, from movies or video games.  Unless they’ve actually been in a comic book store, they have no exposure to comics.

Hopefully we can help change that.

BSR!: On the subject of comics – Your work on New X-Men really absorbed me in to a title that I had only casually read in the past, taking the sort of teen angst that is so often disingenuous, transparent or just plain annoying in comics and making it really identifiable, compelling and even moving while spinning it into some of my favorite X-Men sagas in the last decade. Anyway, enough ass kissing – Where young characters really seem to stifle many writers (or are simply boiled down to a bad attitude, bad haircut and a skateboard), they really seem to be a perfect fit for you. Talk about that.

CY: I love Spider-Man and Cap and Thor, don’t get me wrong.  I love ‘em.  But in some ways, the young characters are more fun.  When the Avengers fight Kang, it’s like – oh, you again.  With the Young Avengers, you’re seeing it fresh through new eyes for the first time.  These characters haven’t seen everything, haven’t done everything, and as teenagers, their emotions are so raw… it’s an explosive mix.  Kids are fun!

BSR!: While you certainly didn’t shy away from dark subject matter in New X- Men, your X-Force was easily the darkest X book I have ever read and I loved it. Talk about what it like to write someone like Wolverine for a children’s program vs. Wolverine gutting religious zealots by the building full.

CY: Well, Wolverine’s a blast to write in any medium, but in X-Force, we can really cut loose.  In the cartoons, a lot of robots get cut.  A lot of doors and walls get cut through.  But in the comics, and in ‘Hulk Vs,’ well, those claws are put to the use you and I all know [what] they’re for.  I don’t prefer one over the other, per se, but realistically… people would get cut around Wolverine.  I’m just saying.

BSR!: Taking into account all the television, the animated features you’ve written for Lionsgate and the comics you’ve done for Marvel – are there any character’s left that you’re itching to get your hands on that you haven’t had the opportunity to yet?

CY: I’ve been extremely lucky.  There’s a few characters I’d still like a crack at… Cloak and Dagger, the Defenders, Quasar, Alpha Flight… I’m greedy.  I want them all.

BSR!: With that, I will hand the reigns over to Swank who has a couple of DC related question… Thanks for your time. Clang! Boom! Steam! Out.

Your run on Red Robin (Part 1, Part 2) is probably 12 of the best issues the Bat-family has had in the last ten years. You really understood Tim better than a lot of writers who took up his reigns and your love for the genre and world is apparent. Do you have more DC stories to tell?

CY: Well, thanks! I’m wrapped up in a few things right now outside of comics, but one day I’d love to jump back in.

BSR!: If you could get your hands on an animated DC property, what would it be?

CY: I’d make a animated DVD of Grant Morrison’s JLA story ‘Rock of Ages.’

BSR!: Last question: What comic books are you reading for entertainment right now?

CY: Hickman’s FANTASTIC FOUR. Love it.

BSR!: Thank you, sir!

With that, be sure to get yourselves a copy of the complete Wolverine and the X-Men.  And be sure to follow Chris on Twitter!

Badass Digest is claiming to have a scoop on the development of the much anticipated sequel to JJ Abrams’ Star Trek sequel. According to Badass Digest, they have a source that is close to the production of the film and has informed them that the basic storyline has been decided on and that they will not be going with Khan as the villain for the sequel, but will be pulling from the classic Trek universe for a protagonist.

. . . my source says that the film won’t be focused on a traditional ‘villain’ type at all.

The story will focus on a classic Trek character. And when I say classic, I mean a character who appeared in season one of the original series, when Gene Roddenberry was in charge.

It’s definitely a character that will make fans of TOS excited. Think along the lines of Harry Mudd or Trelane or Gary Mitchell or the Talosians or the Horta. Actually it’s one of those that I named.

Now, the age that I am, I have seen almost all episodes from TOS, but The Next Generation was the Star Trek I grew up with – so don’t be too embarrassed if those characters don’t exactly ring familiar bells with you. Luckily though, Badass Digest has a great break down of all of these characters and how they might play into this new Star Trek universe. My bet? Out of the characters listed it seems it would be cool to see the “Q-like” character of Trelane make an appearance, or see Kirk have a personal struggle this time around (since the first film was pretty Spock-centric in this department) with a character like helmsman Gary Mitchell – Kirk’s best friend who is turned into an evil God-like being.

I like the idea of staying away from Khan. Abrams has developed a new universe for the crew of the Enterprise and it would be kind of shame to see them just start rehashing villains from prior films. When the filmmakers made Khan – a previously somewhat forgettable protagonist from the series – the villain it was a stroke of genius to bring back this minor character in a big way, and with a vengeance. It looks like Abrams is looking to do something similar by looking to the original series to find his man of mishief for the sequel.

In any case, I can’t wait to see what we get for Star Trek 2 – which I’m pretty sure will eventually get a sweet subtitle . . .

Come make some new friends (or enemies! . . . or even “frienemies”) in the BSR Forum and share your thoughts on villain selection for Abrams’ Star Trek sequel!

It has been a while since I’ve written a DVD column, but they were seemingly popular and readers asked for it back.  So here I am with the column, back in all of its glory.

This is actually a great week to be back.

The first and most important release today is Clone Wars Season 2 on DVD and Blu-ray.  This season stepped up the game from the already great Season 1 and delivered better animation, better stories and a return to form for Star Wars, bringing fans who’d lost interest because of their inability to enjoy the prequels back into the fold.  I’ve reviewed every episode of this show on this site and this season started great and ended even better.

Next we have the Back to the Future trilogy on Blu-ray.  This is a great set of movies and I really don’t need to tell you twice why you should own it.  The box set even includes footage of Eric Stoltz in the role of Marty McFly.  He was replaced by Michael J. Fox 5 weeks after they started filming.

Next we have the Alien Anthology on Blu-ray.  These are four movies that would benefit greatly from the Hi-Def treatment and you’d be surprised how well the third and fourth installments hold up.  In fact, I almost prefer them to the second installment.  Alien is still the perfect movie to watch for Halloween, it’s still incredibly scary and one of the best horror/drama films ever made.

Next is the hilarious Venture Bros. Season 4, Part 1.  If you’re not watching this show, there’s something wrong with you.  (Admittedly, I haven’t seen this season, but I’ll be able to catch up now that the DVD is out.)

A must-own for any collector: The Criterion Blu-ray release of Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.  This is one of Kubrick’s best.  It’s an emotional and thrilling story set in the trenches of France during World War I.  Kirk Douglas offers one of the best performances of his career and Criterion delivers high quality in all of their Blu-ray transfers.

Next is a must for any Silent film fan: The Complete works of Chaplin at Keystone studios.  This is a collection of 34 Chaplin classics.  Worth every penny.

This isn’t a definitive list of everything available, but only my picks.  If there’s anything you think I missed, be sure to comment below or on the forum!

We’ll see you next week with a whole new batch of releases!