Number 8: Marvel's Top 10 Strangest Heroes

Today I released the number 8 superhero for Marvel's Top 10 Strangest Superheroes. This page is getting lots of attention for the unique flair of personalities showing up.

If you didn't know him, Mister Immortal arrives at #8 and comes from the Great Lakes Avengers/X-Men; among the weirdos, he is definately very unique in the superhero world. But he's only one of upcoming super-people for this list. Check it out!

Captain America...LIVES!

This showed up at Marvel.com yesterday and it's really generating some interest. Captain America: The First Avenger is coming out July 22, 2011.

It's not just me, is it? I think this is the movie that might bring back some of the American Spirit! From my perspective, the origin looks great and promising; they've done a great job with the SFX. I can't wait to see Cap throw his shield and fight the Nazis.

Also, there's something really sincere and magnificent about heroes when they are set in the World War II era. I thinks it's because we had a real enemy we could call "evil", the sciences were still in a new-born state, and the country was breaking out of the depression.

Call me old fashioned; I really got a kick out of this trailer. I'm excited. I feel like Cap is going to pull at our sense of decency and justice; like there's still one innocent guy out there believing in good. And fighting for it.

Captain America and Thor Video Game Trailers

Marvel.com released two trailers for their upcoming video game releases on March 21st, 2011. This first one is called "Captain America: Super Soldier", and is the 2nd trailer release for the game.

The second trailer release is for Thor: God of Thunder (This is also the 2nd trailer release for the Thor Game.)

Thor, God of Thunder will be available:  for the PS3 ($49.99), Xbox360 ($49.96), Wii ($32.00), and Nintendo DS ($24.00). You can pre-order a copy clicking the ad below.

The "Fear Itself" Trailer

Released on Dec. 21, 2010, Marvel is planning the "Fear Itself" event which is supposed to rival, if not outdo, it's Civil War.

The Top 10 Strangest Supeheroes of Marvel Comics

I've been looking around and you know what? No one has a list of Marvel's weirdest, strangest superheroes!

"What do you mean," you say?

Seriously, there's pratically nothing out there. So here I am; it's time. I've built an interactive sight for everyone to jump in on the project. It's called "Marvel's Top 10 Most Strangest Supeheroes".

If you're interested in the project, It'll take about 10 weeks, with votes and one superhero entered every week. And if there's little participation, I'll still do the work! (That's how fun a project like this becomes, when you're researching your hobby.)

There's a Daredevil on the Horizon

High atop the city, a crimson phantom stalks the night, skulking from ledge to ledge. His mission is unknown, but the underworld fears his presence.

Daredevil is one those superheroes; the kind that draws in a level of dark psychology and feeling of despair. And once "The Man Without Fear" is at his lowest ebb, almost defeated, he returns from the shadowy corner, drawing upon unrelenting determination and inhuman resilience.

Recently, we just got word that Fox Studios will be making a Daredevil reboot. It's not that the Ben Affleck version of 2003 sucked; it's simply that Fox wants to keep rights to Daredevil movies. Basically, if they don't put DD in movie, the ownership rights revert to Marvel Studios.

Personally, I'm happy and sad about the prospects. Daredevil always makes for a great movie. In the venue of Batman, and even the Punisher, he fufills an aspect of Dark Justice, not always the do-gooder, facing the dirty and despised underbelly of the broken city. But at the same time, Marvel Stuidios is no slouch; they've been making good flicks lately, including all the prequels leading up to the Avengers Movie.

So, it's like this: I'd love to see a Daredevil movie soon, but I bet it would be better if Marvel Studios made it; you can bet they'd tie it in to their others, anyhow.

In the meantime, while we wait, the best version of DD is the Director's Cut; it's available for purchase at a pretty good price.

Conan The Barbarian Teaser Trailer

Coming August 19, Conan The Barbarian will be available in 3D and 2D formats.

The official Conan website is Conan The Barbarian 3D. This teaser trailer is provided by Yahoo! Movies.

Conan The Barbarian will star Jason Momoa and Rose McGowan. The website and footage so far appear very dark and mythical; originally, the goal was to put Mr. Universe and Arnold Schwarzenegger's physique at the forefront. Now, there's a sense of foreboding death. If you take a look at Conan in the picture, his deep visage matches up pretty well with killer, sometimes suicidal, and effortlessly on the edge of beserker rage.

A Word About DC Events: Especially Brightest Day (and Darknest Night)

Yep, I've been following the forums and boards, catching every tidbit of information concerning DC Comics and their Blackest Night - Brightest Day event.

I think someone nailed it when they said that DC is in the process of streamlining their heroes. Think about it:

Final Crisis - Removing all the unwanted "gaps" in storylines within the DC comic multiverse...killing off heroes.

Blackest Day - A revamp of Green Lantern and the Corps.
Brightest Day - A revamp of Aquaman, Hawkman/Hawkgirl, Firestorm, and Martian Manhunter
Flashpoint - An upcoming revamp of The Flash?

The only concern I have with all the world-wide, universal change is that it feels like we're living in an accordian. I don't necessarily disagree with it; I understand it. But at the same time, I'm wondering if -- later on down the road -- we'll be seeing the stories get pulled apart, revealing more gaps...only to need another round of "closing the gap" events.

Interested in the Blackest Night Event? Check out: The Blackest Night

Are you ready for....Free Comic Book Day?

I am!

Heck, it's only a little over a month away! You know what that means; the Thor movie is about to release. DC is getting ready for the "Flashpoint" comic book event (May). Marvel starts up their "Fear Itself" Event (April 2011).

Interested in Free Comics? Check out: Free Comic Book Day

Spotlight on "The Shroud"

Secret Identity: Maximillian Quincy Coleridge
First Appearance: Super Villain Team-up #5 (April 1976)

The Shroud is one of those Superheroes that you really want to see more of, but somehow got lost in the fold. He's been around since 1976, but has only made sporadic appearances throughout Marvel Comics history.

Origin: In his youth, Maximillian saw the death of his parents; this provoked a morbid sense of philosophy in him, ultimately causing him to cross and join paths with the "Cult of Kali".

Throughout the fanatic teachings, Maximillian learns a rare form of martial arts that he masters, culminating in his ceremony of graduation. In that ritual, his face is burned with a fiery iron brand, completely blinding him, but giving him extra-sensory perceptions (it was noted that he is completely comfortable in the dark).

These were The Shroud's powers until later, when he aided Captain America in a battle against The Red Skull. During the adventure, he was struck by a ray and almost killed. Barely surviving, the combination of his time in space, the properties of the ray blast, and his deteriorating mental sanity, somehow gained him access to the powers of The Darkforce. From then on, The Shroud has been capable of emanating darkness, most intangible, but sometimes quasi-solid, to aid him in his quests. To date, he mostly serves a force of good, however, his main focus typically involves interventions with the Cults of Kali and Shiva.

The Shroud is an enigmatic figure, with a basis in magic and mysticism; there could be much more work in his occult background to provide many inspiring stories.

Interested in more on The Shroud and other figures of Darkness? Check out: Superheroes and Villains of Shadow and Night.

Captain America's Appeal

I recently visited a debate thread where the participates were discussing which 2011 supehero movie would "take the prize".

Here's my pick: Captain America: The First Avenger. And here's why.

1. Captain America represents the Ameican Tradition, and more specifically, "American Exceptionalism". Right now, in the USA, there's a growing crisis reality and mentality that we are deficient in solving our problems. But the idea, the very concept of good ole' Cap is that American Exceptionalism is still alive, that we can become better, and we should never give up in the face of adversity.

2. Captain America is a legend that spans many generations. Having started in 1941, the Captain represents the older, still living, "greatest" generation of World War II. Heck, this movie will actually start in that era. Therefore, not only will the Captain America draw the younger comic book crowd, but he'll be bringing in the typical Comic Book Collectors from the ages, as well as Grandma and Grandpa, who remembered him fondly way back.

3. Captain America is represents the traditional "Boy Scout" hero. Remember how DC labels Superman as "The Big Blue Boy Scout"? Well, Marvel basically has the same profile with our red, white, and blue shield-slinger. The Captain is one of those heroes who follows the heart of justice; he's a do-gooder through and through. And the public, always seems to resonate with hereos of this kind.

4. Captain America is an Avenger. Although this is a smaller reason, many people will go see the movie twice or three times, just to find "clues" that will lead them to the upcoming Avengers movie in 2012. In other words, they already know it's a pre-quel, and will stay after the credit roll, just to see if there are any extra clips.

Summary: All in all, I'm sure we are all looking forward to the superheroes movies coming out in 2011; with Cap, Thor, Green Lantern, and so forth, this ensures an exciting summer. But of them all, Captain America is highly likely to be the diamond in the rough; he just means too much, symbolically, to the people of the US.

Interested in more info about Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor? Check out: The Avengers Movie Fan Page.

What The Big Three Superhero MMOs Are Missing

DC Universe Online is the newest Supehero MMO to be released.

 Ok. If you're a bit supehero fan, you've undoubtedly heard of the recent MMO release, DC Universe Online, which sports comic-powered interactivity with the many fans of the industry. It came out January 2011, developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment, and like every Massively Multiplayer game, has had its share of bugs and problems.

But did you know about the other two?

A Screenshot from City of Heroes

The first would be City of Heroes, open to the public in April 2004. It was originally developed by Cryptic Stuidios, now controlled by Paragon Studios, and published by NCSoft. City of Heroes also now includes City of Villains and Going Rogue. It was the first MMO game to be released within the superhero genre.

The second would be Champions Online, also developed by Cryptic and published by Atari. They released in September 2009 and recently switched to a Free-to-Play (F2P) model which makes them, currently, the only superhero-genre game you can play without spending a nickel.

If you're a big fan of superheroes -- heck, if you want to fly, swing from rooftops, or run at super-speeds -- I suggest you give them a try.

A Screenshot from Champions Online, a Free-to-Play MMO.

But WHEN you do, keep this one missing feature in mind: What's up with your SECRET IDENTITY?

Currently, the Secret Identity feature has not been tackled by any of the games; to my knowledge, only City of Heroes has a system, which involved you picking a "Day Job" (where you log out -- hospital, library, etc. -- is considered to be where you work).

So, perhaps you've come up with a way to work in the Secret Identity. I've actually written papers and models on the idea; the person who solves this befuddling concept will probably revolutionize this MMO genre and cause them all to switch-over.