Christmas Wishlist 2010

That is all.

5 Weirdest Marvel Characters

This guest post was contributed by You Are Art

Howard the Duck

Most Marvel characters have some type of special ability or power but not Howard the Duck. He seemed more like a copy of Donald Duck with an attitude. He was first seen in a 1973 edition of Adventure into Fear and was met with almost instant dislike by Marvel fans. Surprisingly, he spawned a self titled film in 1986 which met the same horrible results as the previous comics. Although in recent years it has gained a bit of a cult following, it is still considered to be one of the worst movies of all time.

Maggot

Image Source

Also known as Japheth, Maggot can be easily considered one of the most bizarre and disgusting Marvel characters. First seen in a 1997 issue of X-Men, he is known for having slugs as a replacement for his digestive system. The slugs leave his stomach and can eat through practically any type of substance. When they are doing destroying things, they return to his stomach and recharge his energy. With no explanation given by any further comics, Maggots body occasionally glows with an odd blue colour. Even though he was featured in some X-Men comics, he was never a member of the X-Men.

Doctor Bong

The doctor wasn’t even really a doctor. He was an escaped mental patient that tried to pass himself off as a doctor. He was often a foe of Howard the Duck and did not possess any special powers. He did, however, have a great knowledge of gene manipulation and liked to change animals into evil beings to do his ill bidding. He also was a fan of physics and liked to make sonic vibrations that could bend objects and protect him through self-made barriers. He was first seen in the 15th edition of Howard the Duck.

Asbestos Lady

Asbestos Lady, aka Victoria Murdock, was first introduced in a Captain America issue in 1947. She was the sister of Captain America’s main rival and had a great knowledge of science. She created a fireproof suit lined with asbestos as her protection. She could produce balls of fire and her suit would prevent her from going up in flames. In the early 1990’s she was killed off by becoming a victim of her own asbestos suit. The suit caused cancerous growth which destroyed her body.

Thunder Frog

Thunder Frog was a short-lived amphibian character that lasted through only three issues of Thor. He used his super abilities to make New York City a safe place for residents and tourists. Along with all of the other Central Park frogs, he led a challenge against New York City rats and sewer creatures. He is definitely one of the more humorous creations of Walt Simonson.

Superman Batman Apocalypse Quick Review

DC has been showing a very strong initiative in the direct-to-DVD market, with multiple releases just within this year alone. We have yet to recover from arguably the best animated Batman DVD, Batman: Under the Red Hood, when we were immediately given Superman Batman: Apocalypse

Not surprisingly, DC’s dominance in the DVD battlefield is thanks mainly to the quality of their movies, and not just because of the frequent releases. They’re packing punches in bunches with these products, with only a few missing the mark and even then, not entirely. So, how did Superman Batman: Apocalypse fare?

The Good

The voice acting

Kevin Conroy reprises his role as Batman, and really, up to this day, no one can really call himself the definitive voice of Batman except for Mr. Conroy. And he did, as per his usual, a spectacular job as Bats. Tim Daly likewise reprises his role as Superman, only for some reason, his performance didn’t quite move me, but I’m pretty sure it more of the script’s fault. (And his character’s girly eyes)

Wonder Woman was great, as well. Susan Eisenberg was just spot-on as Diana - not too masculine but dominant and strong, yet she retains that feminine side, too.

Probably the worst of the bunch would be Summer Glau’s Supergirl, but that isn’t saying it was bad. It just wasn’t as good as the others.

Batman, holding an axe

This really doesn’t need to be explained further.

This fight scene

DC animated shows and movies have a trademark over-the-top, hard hitting, awesomely creative fighting sequence style. Everything got crazy after the Justice League cartoons. Ultra violence that wasn’t actually violent but was hella fun to watch.

Superman Batman: Apocalypse is almost a complete exception to this rule with cookie cutter, run of the mill type of fighting. Its saving grace was the fight between The Furies and Wonder Woman and Big Barda. It was excessively cool with the right amount of violence and boobs.
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PlayStation Move Set-Up for Small Rooms

Last week, I was able to get my grubby little hands on the last few pieces of the PlayStation Move bundle from Datablitz. At the get-go, I was already worried about the set up because of the small space I had to work with - both the room and the shelf space. Sometimes, I hate being right. 

I had trouble figuring out where to put the PS Eye because I had a bunch of figures cluttering up my workstation and because I have a freakishly thin monitor. Good thing I came up with a pretty simple solution that might help anyone else who may think they’ve got too small an area to have motion games. It’s in the following video, along with the unboxing and initial set-up.

See what we did there? I perched it atop some support behind the monitor at an angle, aimed towards the play area.

I admit it isn’t the most elegant fix, but it works well. I tried to come up with a graphic explaining why it works with small rooms. Here it is.

See, if it’s angled that way, the camera sees more of the area. It’s as if you put it way back, and gave yourself more space. I could just remove the bed, but that really isn’t an option.

When the PS Eye was at the bottom of the TV, calbration was a problem and playing while standing up was almost impossible. Playing a physical game like table tennis while sitting down is just plain stupid. After the fix, I was able to freely move and play almost flawlessly. Pointing it at the TV and scrolling through options does get a bit weird, though, but it isn’t game-breaking even for Time Crisis.

Go buy the PlayStation Move!

Shit for Sale!

Since I’m almost desperately broke, I’m putting some of my stuff up for sale. Please have a look, you may just find something you’ll like.

PS3 Games for Sale!

God of War 3

R3, played only once until platinum, disc has no scratches at all - P1,500.00 only

I’m open to trades, especially for Transformers: War for Cybertron. I can add cash if need be

Action Figure for Sale

Goliath from Gigantic Battles. I removed Iron Man, but the 12″ Goliatch is still perfectly intact in his box. He goes for P1,200.00. I’ll even throw in Piledriver (the one that came with Hawkeye).

You can reach me through 0922-8157452 or you can leave a comment here.

Spider-Man in MvC3

It’s not like it was a big secret, right? Spidey is still pretty much the face of Marvel Comics. Here’s some gameplay footage for you guys.

First things I noticed about him were his eyes. What’s up with the 90’s look? Aren’t we over the oversized mask eyes yet? C’mon, Japan, keep up.

This has me wishing for tons of DLC for alternate costumes. Maybe we can have classic Thor or Bucky Captain America. They’re just textures mapped on the 3D models anyway, right? Maybe the fates will be kind and give us modern mask Spidey. *crosses fingers*

Spider-Man’s moves are still familiar, with a few enhancements. He’s got this seemingly new web zip move that moves him across the screen quickly or towards a webbed up opponent. That’ll come in handy. He’s also got this weird normal attack that you can see at 0:36 to 0:39.

The most notable change is the Maximum Spider, a move I’ve been a fan of since the early Marvel Superheroes video game. It seems to now trigger an animation upon the first hit, ala SFIV. It looks great, too. What seems to be missing, at least from the trailer, is the Spider Sting - his 2-hit shoryuken-like move. Maybe that’s gone.Everything else seems the same, even the frame speeds.

His quips are pretty standard Spidey, but I think the biggest complaint this game will receive will be from the voice overs repetitiveness. Can you hear how he obnoxiously says “web swing?” That will get old really quick. I hope they record two or three sound clips per move. Deadpool’s going to be the most annoying character, for sure. “I like me some guns!”

Daredevil: Reborn

Here’s a reason for Daredevil fans (me and two other guys) to rejoice. Just a month after Black Panther: Man Without Fear takes over the Daredevil title, Daredevil Reborn will start to take shape.

The creative team handling Daredevil now will be splintered. Andy Diggle will be the wordsmith for the four-part Reborn series. Joining him on the book is Davide Gianfelice, whose name sounds very Italian. That’s all I can say about him for now.

If you recall Frank Miller’s Born Again, this is sort of like that. Kind of a way to breathe new life into the franchise. Man, not like it needed it. It was going strong like Donkey Kong. If it can be half as good as Miller’s Born Again, then I’m all for it. I’m all tingly with excitement.

The New Man Without Fear

You know what I hate in comics sometimes? Solicits and news about future storylines that are direct results of ongoing arcs. Take, for example, fucking Civil War. There were solicits of Spidey going against Iron Man even before the issue of his defection went on sale. There was news of Cap’s death, and it wasn’t at the hands of Iron Man, so we knew what’s what. During the Secret Invasion, we saw solicits of Spider-Woman with the New Avengers while knowing full well about the Skrull Queen. We knew Norman Osborn was going to be the top cop due to Dark Avenger solicits even before he ended the Secret Invasion war.

I understand that they need to sell the future issues, and that advertising them the way they do is probably the most efficient way of getting people interested, but it still takes away from the enjoyment I would otherwise get from a particular story. I wish I could say they were isolated cases, but I can’t. It happens all the time.

And now we have this.

Yes. Marvel.com confirms that T’Challa, also known as Black Panther, becomes the new protector of  Hell’s Kitchen. Because, you know, that place needs a dark, brooding character to oversee it at all times. Fuck regular law enforcement! Whaty they need are agile superheroes in tight spandex costumes.

Way before the official announcement, word in the rumor mill said that there would be a new Daredevil. We thought it’d be some guy in the Daredevil costume, posing as Matt’s alter ego. My initial thought was “Couldn’t be Danny; it’s been done.” Other names that were floating around include Gambit, Kraven, Luke Cage, Shang Chi and even Spider-Man. Seriously? Kraven?

Anyway, we all knew there was going to be some hardcore changes due to Shadowland’s fallout. It’d just be nice if they were kept secret until you know, after fucking Shadowland finishes.

Alas, we’ve been introduced to the man who’ll take over Matt Murdock’s duties as the protector of Hell’s Kitchen, and that man is T’Challa, the Black Panther.

Well, why not, right? The guy just went toe to toe with Dr. Doom and came out the winner, at the cost of every frickin’ ounce of pure vibranium they had left. So, essentially, he went from monarch of one of the richest and most technologically advanced countries on the planet to another down-on-his-luck street level crimefighter. He needed a place to defend, and it just so happened that Hell’s Kitchen had a vacancy.
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X FRICKIN’ 23!

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

Oooh, and she’s not a Wolverine clone, too. She’s got her unique moves. She seems to move a tad quicker than Wolverine, too, but it doesn’t look like her moves are all that high in the priority chain.Unlike Wolvie, her range isn’t all that impressive. Well, she is a small girl.

The thing that seems to be a little off is her dialogue. It’s all standard fighting game jibber jabber. From what I’ve observed of X-23 in the comics, she’s got a peculiar manner of speaking due to the way she was brought up. According to her Wikipedia entry: Because she grew up in a controlled environment, she speaks using perfect grammar, without the use of slang.

Yeah, “dirt nap” seems a bit out of character.

Avenger Sims

Last week, I installed The Sims 3, The Sims World Adventures and Sims 3 High End Stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s a girl game, I know. Whatever, dude, it’s fun and a very effective time-drainer. 

I decided to popular The Sims 3 universe with Marvel characters. So far, I’ve only got the big three, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark and Thor Odinson,  and Daredevil and Elektra. I’m still planning to add Danny Rand, Luke Cage, Peter Parker and maybe MJ Watson. Gonna make them all learn Kung Fu.

Check it out.

Steve Rogers being taught Kung Fu by some mysterious Chinese woman

Tony Stark being Tony Stark

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Awesome Marvel Videos

The past three days saw the release of three mindblowing videos. Well, two mindblowing videos and the other will make your brain hurt. We’ll save that one for last. Let’s kick this bad boy off right by presenting you EPIC EPICNESS that is a Marvel VS Capcom 3 brand new trailer.

Can’t… stop… watching. Have you ever seen Captain America more bad ass? Hells to the No.

I’m disappointed at how lame Doctor Doom was in this clip, but I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Viewtiful Joe and Amaterasu were pretty cool, too. But I guess the big reveal in this would be Tron Bonne from Capcom and Trish from Devil May Cry, I guess.

I am still hoping for Daredevil or Iron Fist. C’mon! Or Hawkeye, gimme Hawkeye.

You know how Marvel loves releasing video trailers for their big upcoming storylines and new titles? They did it for Shadowland and the Astonishing X-Men motion comic? Yeah, this one’s for Uncanny X-Force.

Marvel, please have Steve Blum voice Wolverine next time. Thanks!

Still kicks ass, though. That’s kinda how Wolverine would totally do it, you know? Go behind Cyke’s back to stir up some shit. I’d be insulted, though, if Cyke didn’t secretly know about it and was monitoring their progress the whole time. Know what would be cool enough to drive me autistic? Having Cyke come in and rescue X-Force, wearing an X-Force themed Cyclops costume. *orgasms*

And for the funny bit, check this out. A little warning, though - it’s not HAHA funny. It’s more like “WTF funny.”

Man-child is exactly how I would describe Dan Gilvezan. Also WTF FAIL on their favorite lines. Oh and the best bit about this video is that Dan Gilvezan is clearly wearing a Flash shirt. Awesome job, Dan.

Marauders Gun Runners 1:18 Weapons

I very rarely get excited about things I ship in. Actually, you know what, the word I should probably use is “anxious,” partly because of the insanely cheap shipping rates.

Very recently, I ordered a Marauders Series II Complete Set Value Pack from Marauders Gun Runners. Shipping cost me  a mere $1.45, and they said they charge the same amount no matter where you are on the planet. Woah. I know these guys are good for it, though, because this isn’t the first time I’ve ordered something from them. My first order was the Marauders Series I Complete Value Set, and it rocks my socks.

Back then, shipping was absolutely free, and they sent it through airmail. You, of course, had the option to pay, but we opted for the cheapskate package. It took two weeks get to me. That was sent via first class airmail. This time around, I’m pretty sure it’ll take another 2 weeks, but I literally cannot wait to get my hands on my tiny guns.

This was the best picture they had, sorry.

The contents of the packaging are as follows: AUG77 Assault Rifle, SWAT Submachine Gun, L85 (SA80) Assault Rifle, M249 SAW w/ Bipod & Ammo Case, M60-E3 Heavy Machine Gun w/ Ammo Case, P90 PDW “Personal Defense Weapon”, RPG Launcher, NVR Rifle, NCM Rifle, MODIFIED P38 Walther Automatic Pistol, SCI-FI Blaster, SWAT-K “Mini” Submachine Gun, 9mm Automatic Pistol, SIG550 Assault Rifle w/ “Double” Ammo clip & Scope, MAC-10 Sub-Machine Gun w/ Silencer, Thompson Sub-Machine gun “Tommy-Gun” w/ Ammo Drum, AK-74 Assault Rifle w/ Grenade Launcher, M16 Assault Rifle w/ Grenade Launcher, M4 Carbine Assault Rifle w/ “Under” Shotgun, Commando Assault Rifle, SOCOM Automotic Pistol w/ Silencer & Samurai Katana Sword. The Marauder “Gun-Runners” Series #2 Complete set contains 21 guns, 1 sword, 3 Ammo Cases & 1 bipod.

That’s a lot of guns. 21 to be precise, and 1 sword. I have no clue what to do with most of them but sure as hell Punisher is getting the M249 Saw w/ bipod and ammo case. Black Widow is getting the SOCOM automatic pistol with silencer or the Walther P38, I haven’t decided yet. Deadpool gets the 9mm automatic pistol and Bob, Agent of Hydra gets the sci-fi gun! Everyone’s happy!

Captain America Pictures Float Around the Webz

This morning, my friend brought this little bit of news to my attention. Turns out, pictures from a Cap shoot have been released online! The images were taken from this site. Apparently, they’re shots of a stunt double from their shoot in London. These guys are probably on the B-team. Check these bad boys out.

We already knew about the World War II thing, yeah? But if you were anything like me, you would be hoping for a bad ass chopper, just like this. Thankfully, we were not disappointed. Not in the slightest, at least in the bike, which looks fan-frickin’-tastic. Captain America crotch rocket FTW! Now all he’s missing is a Thompson of an M1911!

 Here’s Fake Chris Evans Captain America with someone who may or may not be a personal assistant. I am digging the star on the bike. Oh, and lo and behold, check out the front tire of the bike. Is that a shotgun I see? Could be an M1 Garand. 

Another shot with more people, covering up Chris Evans’ stunt double from, I dunno, rain? It rains a lot in London, doesn’t it? Or the sun? Maybe that costume is hot as hell, yeah? Also, is it just me or does that double look like a tubby guy? Look at him there. He looks like a porker. What’s up with that?

Help me out here. I’m not that car-savvy, but does this look like a heavily modified 40’s car to you? I mean, I’m not sure but I guess the cars then looked a little less Steam Punk with smaller wheels and a higher chasis. And they didn’t look like they were giving you the look of disapproval. Pretty damn cool, nonetheless.

Also on set were these futuristic looking bikes with a nice metallic gray finish, because everyone knows the future will be shiny and metallic. Also, Red Skull apparently employs retrenched Cobra Vipers.

I am looking forward to a nice bike chase scene, though.

Fake Chris Evans getting propped by his assistant. Does it look like he’s got a boner there? Look at his crotch. It’s practically impregnating the woman in front of him. Oh well, I guess you can’t blame the guy. If I got to wear the Captain America costume, I’d perpetually have a super massive boner, too.

So besides a few cool pictures, is there anything new that we learned? Yeah, I guess. Futuristic tech in the 1940’s is totally in-line with the Captain America mythos. Oh, and the costume looks a bit off, don’t you think so? It’s dorky.

Thor, The Mighty; Thor, The Brave!

I realized I had shot and edited a video review of the 3.75″ Marvel Universe Thor but never really got around to posting it here, which makes absolutely no sense.

Here it is, mortals.

I seriously suck at making videos, but I don’t want to open up my action figures without making a review. It adds content value for me, you know? So the figure practically pays for itself. Well, not really.

Anyway, yeah, almost everything I wanted to say about the figure was in the video but I guess I gotta point out a couple things.

He’s bigger than most MU figures, which means he’s perfectly in scale. In my 6″ collection, which I’m thinking about selling, by the way, I’ve got Mark VI Iron Man, Face Off Captain America and Marvel Select Thor. Take those three figures and shrink them down proportionally to 1:18 scale and you’ve basically got the MU version.

Thor looks awesomely majestic, all kingly while holding back his awesome power. Kinda like quiet power, you know?

He is surprisingly poseable. He looks great with action shots although he still does look better when just standing up, holding his hammer. There’s a gay joke in there somewhere.

With all his points of articulation, you can make him look like he’s kinda flying or swinging Mjolnir or conjuring up some fucken’ lightning. The neck works well enough with the hair and the cape. The chest and waist joints are cool. However, I still haven’t figured out how the sliced thigh joints help.
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Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Info

The BER months are upon us and there is good reason to celebrate. I’m not even talking about that holiday, which has almost become synonymous with weight gain. I’m talking about September 7, 2010 - the release date of the latest Marvel game, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

I’m not sure when it’ll reach our shores. I haven’t been to a Datablitz in a while, mostly because I’m as broke as monkey trying to sell bananas to fish, and going there just depresses me. However, if past trends are any indication, it should be here a couple days after launch, at the latest. I’m waiting for it in region 1. I hope they ship at the same time.

Check out the launch trailer. It is badass.

Here’s a few interesting things - each Spider-Man dimension will be voiced by an actor who has previously played Spider-Man from an animated series.

The awesome Neil Patrick Harris was the voice behind Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, which was on MTV. He will be the voice of the Amazing Spider-Man universe.

Christopher Daniel Barnes who played Parker in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which ran from 1994 to 1998 - the second longest running series based on a superhero, next only to Uncanny X-Men. He’s the voice behind Spider-Man Noir.

Dan Gilvezan, who did the voice in the most amazing Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, is going to be Spider-Man 2099.

Josh Keaton, the voice of Spectacular Spider-Man (I love that show, by the way), will be behind Ultimate Spider-Man.

• Stan Lee will be the narrator of the game. He hasn’t done that since Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro from years ago. Yes, mother fuckers, Stan Lee’s one-of-a-kind voice will be in the game.
• John DiMaggio does the voice of Hammerhead from Spectacular Spider-Man will reprise his role as Hammerhead in the game, as well. He’s also Bender.
• Jim Cummings, who did a HORRIBLE job as Thor in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, is doing Kraven the Hunter. Please, oh please, don’t suck. He did Shocker from Spider-Man: The Animated Series
• Steve Blum, who we all know and love as the ultimate voice of Wolverine, is playing the Hobgoblin. He was in Spectacular Spider-Man as the Green Goblin.
• Nolan North was awesome as Deadpool in Hulk VS Wolverine. Thankfully, he’ll be reprising the role. He’s also Green Lantern from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
• Amazing Spider-Man scribe Dan Slott wrote the story.

6 days to go!