Posts Tagged ‘Captain America’

Why Not A Captain America Shield For Our Troops?

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

Soldiers Need Cap Shield

This Is In Reference To Our Troops In Real Life – Not The Comics

More than 7,000 coalition troops have died in the Middle East; 4,700 in Iraq and 2,600 in Afghanistan. Possibly tens of thousands of US soldiers have had amputees due to IEDs and from combat. As an ex Airborne Ranger, I’ve often wondered, WHY THE HELL aren’t our soldiers issued bullet/fragmentary resistant shields similar to what Captain America wears. Body armor is currently being used, but it does nothing to protect the arms and legs of soldiers exposed to enemy fire. Body armor also transfers a huge amount of force to the body and internal organs.

With standard issue Captain America shields, the term “Double Amputee” would still be used when talking about returning US casualties of war, but hopefully, the incident rate would be far, far less than what we see now.

Cover and Concealment

Cover: Cover is what a soldier hides behind when receiving fire. Bullets are fired at you, you need something in between you and the bullets, something that will stop them. A very thick wall, lots of cyder blocks, a hill, an armored personnel carrier, 50 camels. These things keeps you alive.

Concealment: Concealment is something that prevents a soldier from being seen. Think of all those Vietnam movies you’ve seen. Soldiers in the bush, hiding in the foliage are concealed from enemy eyes. If spotted, and if they have no cover to hide behind, they’re dead meat, depending on how fast they can run and how many rifles are pointed in their direction.

What’s A Shield Do?

Soldiers In The Open

A Captain America shield is portable cover. No matter if a soldier is an urban environment, a desert or even in a jungle, they are exposed when going from point A to point B. Every single time they move from one building to another they are essentially moving from through a “Danger Area” (Danger Area is any “open” area such as a field, river, top of a hill. Any area where the enemy can go, “So, Abdul, there I was dreaming about these virgins and…. HOLY JIHAD! Abdul, Look! There is an infidel out in the open in that goat field! Wake Jafar up and let us shoot these Great Satan dogs! …and don’t forget your sandals Abdul, like you did last time.”

Kneeling Position - Leftie

Out in the open, in a Danger Area, a soldier is exposed. As he starts receiving enemy fire, he has nothing to hide behind. there is no cover to stop the bullets from hitting any part of his body. His only hope, depending on the size of the enemy with respect to his own unit, is getting in the prone position (decreasing the size of his silhouette), laying down a tremendous amount of suppressive fire (which can’t be sustained for too long), and then strategically getting the hell out of there to a better position (cover) so they can then return targeted fire from a safe position. They can also call for support, which god only knows when that would come. In this instance, the shield would help protect a soldier’s torso, arms and legs until he and his comrades got safely to a better place of permanent cover.

What’s Needed In A Shield?

The shield would need to meet certain conditions in order for it to function properly in the combat theater of operations. Off hand, some of the requirements are:

Capable of stopping an AK-47 round. Granted, armor can’t stand up to a hail of bullet fire, but it only takes one bullet to mess up a soldier’s day. If that shield can stop that one bullet, and a couple more, he’ll be able to get a new shield back at base, and have a great story to tell his buddies, wife and little daughter at home.
Portable without weighing a ton. A soldier can only carry so much crap before he starts bitching and moaning. .. well… he’s going to be bitching and moaning no matter what (I hear the MREs are only marginally better than they were when I was in) no matter what, especially in the heat, but logistically, he can only carry so much before his performance is hampered which is when his equipment becomes a liability. The shield shouldn’t weigh any more than 14 pounds max.
On Guard.
Easily worn during performance. It has to function while he moves and engages in combat. Which means he needs to be able to lie in the prone, kneeling position, in urban environment (going through doorways) and is not cumbersome while firing his weapon.
Can be unencumbered as needed. At some point a soldier needs to do other stuff, remove a rucksack, put on a rucksack, apply a dressing to a wound, get to that hot piece of frag lodged in his rib cage, get behind the wheel of vehicle quickly, grab a pen to take a cute female MP’s phone number down. The shield needs to be rapidly deployed and discarded on an as-needed basis.
Camouflaged. Obviously, the shield wouldn’t look like Caps, except for ceremonial dress, and would have a camouflaged cover on it, based on the terrain and the operations involved.
Cost effective. What’s the price of a soldier’s life? If you consider that an M4 (M-16) costs somewhere around $500 and a Kevlar helmet around $300, an effective shield should be able to be issued at around $1,000. A while ago we had up to 200,000 troops in Iraq and 20,000 in Afghanistan. If 75% of them were combat assigned, that’s about 165,000 soldiers out in the field susceptible to enemy fire. The tax payer’s price tag would be $165,000,000. Even at $2,000 per shield (which could EASILY be gathered by doing nothing more than passing a hat) the total cost would be $330,00,000. Chump change! US tax payers would be getting a goddamn deal and more troops would be returning, walking off that plane to their wives and kids.

Don’t they deserve it?

Haji At 12 O'Clock! OPEN FIRE!

- by Ronando

PS: Yes, the photoshopped pics are less than ideal, but since our main graphics guy left to go be a counselor at some summer camp, we’re left on our own to hack and slash our way through making pics. So, no flamers!

Tags: Captain America
Posted in Contests, Random Musings | 8 Comments »

Explaining Captain America To My Wife…

Monday, July 25th, 2011

SPOILERS: A real conversation with my wife Valerie, while on a run, after seeing Captain America: The First Avenger. After seeing the movie and thinking about comic-to-movie transition, interpretation and continuity and adherence to canon I started thinking about the decrease in comic sales in general. I thought I’d run my thoughts by my wife, for a good distraction from the run while giving me an excuse to talk about comics in general, since I hate running.

Ronando: “Ok, so, … here’s why I think comic sales are partially due to ridiculously complex comic stories. .. and it’s connected to the Captain America movie we just saw. there’s some like, cool things about the movie that you should… um… that you’ll think are pretty cool.”

Valerie: “… uh huh.”

R: “.. so, you remember in the movie, Cap’s friend Bucky …”

V: “Yeah, the guy that died on the train?”

R: “Yeah. Well, in the comics, he dies and…”

V: “On a train?”

R: “No. No. .. not on a train, it’s complicated. He dies trying to stop a test rocket in World War II but then is brought back several years ago by the Russians, but he lost an..”

V: “Bucky’s a Russian? I thought he was Captain America’s friend.”

R “No! No! He is Cap’s friend, he’s not Russian. The Russian’s fouuund him, but he was missing an arm, and they brain washed him. Here’s the deal. They train him to be an assassin, a sniper, as well as a trainer for the Black Widow Russian agents. The cool thing is that we saw Bucky, for just a moment, using a sniper rifle in the movie. I’m betting that when the Avengers comes out, Bucky will be the Winter Soldier, which is the name the Russian’s gave him when he was working for them.”

V: “So what’s that got to do with a decrease in comic sales?

R: “…. um… I don’t know, I lost my train of thought. Hold on, let me catch my breath.”

V: “Aren’t you supposed to know this stuff? You run a superhero website and sell superhero shirts. You would think that your fans would expect you to know all the…”

R: “Give me a second!! I’m trying to remember the connection, it’s pretty convoluted! I have to backtrack my thoughts. …. Oh! Ok, so, you know I just got my comic shipment from Excalibur comics in Portland. So, in there is a new series called Fear itself. The deal is, if you’re buying comics for the first time in a couple years and you happen to pick one of these up, you have no friggin’ idea what the hell is going on! Check it out, there are these like, 6 or 7 hammers that fall to Earth and..

V: “Like Thor’s hammer?”

R: “Exactly! So, they fall to Earth and..”

V: “But Thor already has a hammer.”

R: “NO! NO! Listen, No, there’s 6 or 7, I don’t know ’cause I started in the middle, that fall to Earth. They’re somehow connected to this serpent that wraps around the Earth, an evil serpent, so anyone who picks up the hammers gets possessed and turns evil. So, you know the Red Skull from the…”

V: “What’s this have to do with Captain America and Bucky?”

R: “…. Ugh! I’m getting there! Hold on. You know the Red Skull from the movie?”

V: “Yeah.”

R: “Well, he has a daughter who’s name is Sin. She’s an evil b!tch who happens to have one of these hammers. So does Hulk and the Thing. So… Ah! Here’s what I was getting at. Bucky’s wearing Captain America’s uniform and …”

V: “I thought Bucky was dead?”

R: “No! NO!! Well… he was, but, remember? The Russians brought him back and…”

V: “Yeah, one armed sniper and spiders.”

R: “… Black Widows!! Ok, so, When Captain America was dead, Bucky..”

V: “Captain America’s dead? They just made a movie of him. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about? I’m totally confused now.”

R: “UGH! Yes I know what I’m talking about. … for the most part. Yeah, sure I’m missing some stuff here and there, but this stuff I know. So, Cap died when..”

V: “OH!! Yeah. He died in World War II, right?”

R: “um… no, not that time. Everyone thought he was dead, but he was just frozen for like 30 years. They brought him back in the 70s when the Avengers found him.”

V: “Wait. In the movie they said he was asleep for 70 years. You said 30.”

R: “Well, that’s because it was 30 years later in the ’70s.”

V: “Wait. … is that real time or comic time?”

R: “Both. … no wait.”

V: “You have no idea how stupid this sounds.”

R: “I do too, I complain about it all the time. Now listen, back in the 70s, when they bring Cap back, it was 70 years. But..”

V: “You mean 30.”

R: “Right, 30, WW II plus 30 years is 1970sish. But, in the movie, which is right here and now, it’s 70 years later! Got it?”

V: “Yeah, but what’s that have to do with Thor’s other hammers?”

R: “Sonofa… hold on, let me figure out where I was going with it. There’s a connection, it’s just hard to concentrate while running in this god forsaken muggy heat. And it’s only 7:00 am still! …. K, I got it. Cap comes back, joins the Avengers in the ’70s, and recently he gets killed and …”

V: “Wait, is this for real killed or assumed killed?”

R: “Well… I don’t really know, I never figured it out since I didn’t read that whole comic line. I don’t know if it was really him or some clone or god knows what, if he really died and something brought him back, but, regardless, for this story, he’s dead-dead. So, at some point Bucky comes in and ..”

V: “But I thought he was a bad guy for the Russians.”

R: “Well, yeah, he was, until he turned good again.”

V: “How’d that happen?”

R: “I don’t know, I missed that story line too.”

V: “And you’re supposed to know what you’re talking about?”

R: “Look, it’s like … comics are like a soap opera but cooler. You can be gone for years and come back and even though you have no idea what the hell is going on, you still have a good grasp of the fundamentals. You know that the old stuff still holds.”

V: “Like Bucky being dead?”

R: “GODDAMNIT! Will you just let me finish? So, in a friggin’ nutshell… Cap’s dead, Bucky’s cleared his head from the brainwashing and is now a good guy AND apparently somehow finds himself wearing Cap’s uniform, in place of Cap. So, he’s fighting off Sin, the Red Skull’s daughter, while Captain America, Steve Rogers is up with S.H.I.E.L.D. talking abo…”

V: “I thought Captain America was dead! You just said, ‘Cap’s dead and Bucky took his place.’”

R: “Ugh! Yeah, well nobody stays dead in the comics. He’s alive at this point.”

V: “Oh, like Batman?”

R: “Yeah, like Batman. And Superman.”

V: “How many times can they die?”

R: “Um… I don’t know. But I think the fans will only give them one chance and that’s it. … But Spider-Man died twice.. he just died in fact.. .but it was the Ultimate Spider-Man.”

V: “The skinny one?”

R: “Yeah.”

V: “Didn’t you say he had a clone and one of them died too?”

R: “Yeah, he died too, the clone, but Peter, and the readers, didn’t know till he died and turned to dust. … So, ANYWAYYY! … where the hell was I?”

V: “Cap’s dead, Bucky took his place, Cap’s alive, Bucky’s fighting the Red Skull’s daughter who has a hammer like Thor’s.”

R: “… wow, I’m impressed you managed to keep track of all that.”

V: “I’m a doctor, I need to know this stuff to stay cool with all the male doctors and medical students. So finish your story.”

R: “K, so…. um… oh yeah, Cap’s alive and he wants to get into the fight. In the mean time, Bucky’s getting the crap kicked out of him. He bashes Sin’s face with the shield, ‘BAMF!!’ And is coming in to decapitate her when she knocks him down and rips his arm off and blasts a hole through his chest. Bucky’s dead-dead-dead. Blue Beetle had a bullet put into his dead, so he’s dead-dead, same with Psycho Pirate where Black Adam explodes Pirate’s head by poking him in the eyes. .. so, it looks like, to me, that Bucky’s dead-dead-dead. … I give it a 80% chance of being permanent.”

V: “hmmm.. .three deads, that sounds permamanent. How can you tell if it’s permanent?”

R: “Um… good question. .. .I think 1) when you see the body, but that’s not a guarantee because we saw Robin’s body and Cap’s body, but not Bucky’s, and all three were dead and are now alive. And 2) …. if the wound is bad enough to the point where the reader goes, “Jesus Christ! Did you read this?” Then they’re pretty much dead. … at least a 65% chance of being dead-dead.”

V: “Wait… Robin’s dead?”

R: “OHJESUSCHRIST We’re not going there. No! No.”

V: “…..”

R: “Ok, so, Cap’s dead… I mean, Bucky’s now dead and there are these 7 planet buster hammers floating around in the hands of possessed heroes and villains. Big Big trouble. The deal is, it’s confusing. Totally confusing if you walked right in the middle of it. The only reason why I know is ’cause Debbie at Excalibur told me about the story and that I should buy them.”

V: “Yeah, you sound confused.”

R: “Shutup!”

V: “Well, if it’s so confusing, then maybe they should have a summary at the beginning of each comic of what’s going on.”

R: “Yeah, they already do that.”

V: “What? They do? Don’t you read it?”

R: “Pffft… no, nobody does. It’s boring.”

V: “You are such a dork! Here you are contemplating on one of the primary reasons why comics are decreasing in sales, referring to a major flaw in the comic publishers and writers and come to find out, they account for it, but you just don’t read it.”

R: “… it’s boring. I hate reading those things.”

V: “Don’t you think that if you read them that you just might understand the comic a little more?”

R: “…..”

R: “Well… yeah…..guess you’re right. … but the stories are still long, drawn out, big galactic, infinite crisis bullsh!t this or House of that! … it just keeps getting more and more convoluted to the point that the story itself is lost in all the convolutedness.”

V: “I don’t think ‘convolutedness’ is a word and I think you’re just being lazy. Didn’t you say that Blackest Night was a big hit? Wasn’t that convoluted? Did you read all of those comics?”

R: “Yeah, it was a big hit. … no, I didn’t get all of them either. The price of comics are freakin’ expensive! $3.99 for a Marvel comic!”

V: “…. wait, isn’t … wasn’t Blackest Night DC?”

R: “… well… yeah, but you still get my point! Look, the price of comics on top of convoluted, super-ark story lines that make you buy a bunch of comics you don’t want to buy compounded with where if you miss one friggin’ issue you’re totally lost, and those stupid ads for Go-Gurt and Spider-Man scateboards all comes down to a decrease in geeks who want to buy comics. That’s all I’m saying.”

V: “Sure took you a long enough time to say it. I still think you’re just being lazy and like to complain. Do all of you comic guys complain this much? … So, tell me how Robin died.”

R: “No!”

V: “Awww… are you pouting? Do you need a hug?”

R: “No! Get away. You’re sweaty. Leamealone!!!”

*forced hug, then laughs*

R: “I’m still right! You just don’t understand ’cause you don’t have to put up with these writers.”

V: “Uh huh.”

Tags: Bucky, Captain America, Fear Itself, Thor
Posted in Comic Books, Contests, Random Musings, Superheroes | 12 Comments »

Memorable Superhero Moment – Cap’s Rant In The Ultimates

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Surrender??!! You think this letter on my head stands for France?

It’s World War II and an alien race, known as the Chitauri, has infiltrated the Nazi Party. One of the high ranking aliens absorbs and devours Herr Kleiser, a Nazi officer. The Chitauri offered the Nazis advanced technology to use them to conquer Earth and impose “order”, erasing all individuality, which they see as an aberration. Towards the end of World War II , Herr Kleiser faces off with Captain America but was ultimately defeated.

Fast forward 57 years into the future and Cap and Kleiser are at it again in one of the most spectacular fights ever put into comics. I mean, it was jaw dropping fantastic. The background: Herr Kleiser and other aliens, using their shape shifting capabilities, infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D’s Psi-Division, and plant false information designed to lure the Ultimates to a Micronesian island where they were to be destroyed by a nuclear bomb. However, Thor’s magic hammer, and Iron Man’s force field, protected the Ultimates from being obliterated. Unfortunately thousands of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were killed. Kleiser and the Chitauri also infiltrated Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, captures Wasp and takes her to Area 51 near Phoenix, Arizona.

At the same time, the Chitauri fleet inform Kleiser they are planning on destroying the planet; at this point it’s revealed that the Ultimates survived the Micronesian trap and a HUGE battle takes place. This is where Herr Kleiser and Cap finally go at it again and it’s absolutely fantastic. Cap kicks it off by alerting all, and I do mean ALL, military personnel across the globe to get their asses to Phoenix to fight the aliens who have “seized control of S.H.I.E.L.D and now threaten our very existence.”

While Kleiser is monologueing on the radio, Cap pierces him on the nose tip of a jet fighter and sends the jet, with Kleiser, crashing into several tanks of jet fuel, but not before ejecting from the cockpit. There’s a HUGE explosion and the entire area goes up in flames, yet Kleiser survives, and is pissed. Kleiser’s now raging mad. They engage, but Cap can’t even get a hand on Kleiser before Kleiser lands three painful blows on Cap, throwing him around like a rag doll. Kleiser then proceeds to mop the tarmac with Steve, all while monologueing. While being pummeled, Cap can barely get the words out, “WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!?” God this is fantastic writing.

Keep in mind, Kleiser is naked as a jaybird at this point while they’re wrestling in mortal combat. “Get offa me, you freak!” Cap manages to say while his beating continues. Meanwhile the Avengers are… I mean… the Ultimates are dealing with the rest of the Chitauri, and it’s totally hardcore up in the air as Iron man and Thor are ripping apart the airborne fleet. On the ground, Fury sees Cap being thrown around and activates his “light-sensitive mode” for sixty seconds and basically goes invisible to sneak up on Kleiser, to the point of being able to put an M203 Grenade Launcher (M16 for those of you who don’t know weapons) up side of Kleiser’s head, “EAT THIS, MOTHER******!” and is able to pump a good 6 rounds into Kleiser’s cranium.

But, Kleiser isn’t even phased, with half his head blown off, he quickly dispatches Fury and proceeds to try to force Cap to surrender, to get Cap to repeat after him, mocking him, “I surrender, Herr Kleiser! Make it quick!” Cap loses it and head butts Kleiser, palms Kleiser in the jaw, knocking him back then grabs his shield and nearly cuts Kleiser in half finally managing to yell out, “Surrender? … SURRENDER??!! You think this letter on my head stands for France?” All while he’s bleeding from multiple cuts all over his body.

It’s at this point where Fury gives the “ok” to “traumatize Banner, gentlemen,” to get the Hulk into the game. And that’s when it REALLY gets interesting.

If you haven’t read the Ultimates, then you’re just WRONG! And if you don’t understand Cap’s reference, with all due respect to France (thank you for the statue of liberty) then you might want to read up on France as they lose their way through historic battles in time; the Gallic Wars, Hundred Years War, Italian Wars, Wars of Religion, War of the Augsburg League/King William’s War/French and Indian War, War of the Spanish Succession, The Napoleonic Wars, World War II and the Vietnam war. All of which they lost. But boy they can sure cook!! We still love you guys.

The Ultimates was written by Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch. Go buy a hard copy now.

Tags: Captain America, The Ultimates
Posted in Memorable Superhero Moments | 5 Comments »

Upcoming Superhero Movies – 2011/2012

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – December 16

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are back as Sherlock Holmes and formidable colleague, Dr. Watson, in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room until the new criminal mastermind at Professor Moriarty (played by Jared Harris, TV’s “Mad Men,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and also played the voice of Ridley in Tales of the Black Freighter) shows up. Moriarty is Holmes’ intellectual equal with a capacity for evil and complete lack of conscience proves to give our renowned detective a run for his money.

Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes increasingly more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London and across Europe, to France, Germany and Switzerland. But Moriarty is always one step ahead, weaving and spinning a web of death and destruction, which, come to find out, is all part of a greater evil plot that will change the course of history…. or, in their case, the future. See, it’s changing our history, or, our fictional history which ties into Holmes’ stories but since it hasn’t happened yet… ugh… it’s just like in the Start Trek movie with changing time and stuff.

Guy Ritchie returns to direct “Game of Shadows,” .. you thought I was going to say Game of Thrones, didn’t you.

In her first English-speaking role, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who gained international attention in the Swedish film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” plays Sim. Stephen Fry (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) is Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother.

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is written by Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and appear in stories and novels by him. Go out and start reading some Sherlock, it won’t disappoint.

The Adventures of Tintin – December 23

The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by the Belgian artist Georges Rémi (1907–1983). It is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, translated into more than 80 languages and more than 350 million copies of the books sold to date. Set during a largely realistic 20th century, the hero, Tintin, is a young Belgian reporter who ends up on adventures to far away places. With him is his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy.

Additional cast include cynical & grumpy Captain Haddock, the intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus, two incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson. The author, pen named Hergé, himself is featured in several of the comics as a background character, thinking of Alfred Hitchcock here. Appears to be a promising family flick.

2012

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – February 17
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter – Feb 22 Read the book. It’s pretty good.
The Avengers – May 4
Men In Black III – May 25
John Carter of Mars – March 9
Prometheus – June 8 Prequel to Alien, directed by Ridley Scott
G.I. Joe 2 – June 29
Amazing Spider-Man – July 3
Batman: The Dark Knight Rises – July 20
Total Recall – Aug 3 starring Colin Farrell
Dredd – Sept 21
The Hobbit Pt.1 – Dec 19
300: Battle of Artemisia
Akira
Dark Tower

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – Feb 17

Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Nicolas Cage will reprise his role as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider. It is the second film to be released under the Marvel Knights banner after 2008′s Punisher: War Zone.

Set several years after the first film, Johnny Blaze, a tormented soul who is convinced that his powers are a curse, is in self-imposed exile from the world. Blaze is approached by Moreau, a member of the monastic order of Michael, the warrior angel. Moreau seeks a protector for a mother and son duo who are being hunted by a figure named Roarke – a fellow with a detailed knowledge of the Ghost Rider and his different identities over the centuries

Official Ghost Rider Movie page.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter – Feb 22

This isn’t from the movie, it’s just an ad for the book.

The Avengers – May 4

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, featuring an ensemble cast, including Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury).

When an unexpected enemy emerges who threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, the director of the S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), finds himself in need of a team of superheroes and ends up recruiting Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to pull the world back from the brink of disaster and destruction.

Tom Hiddleston is back as Norse god of mischief, and adopted brother to Thor, Loki who comes to Earth to subjugate it, to rule the human race as their king. About his character, Hiddleston said, “I think the Loki we see in The Avengers is further advanced. You have to ask yourself the question: how pleasant an experience is it disappearing into a wormhole that has been created by some kind of super nuclear explosion of his own making? So I think by the time Loki shows up in The Avengers he’s seen a few things.”

Cobie Smulders is S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill who works closely with Nick Fury. Regarding her preparation, Smulders stated, “I hired this amazing black-ops trainer to teach me how to hold a gun, take me to a shooting range, how to hit, how to hold myself, how to walk and basically how to look. I don’t do a ton of fighting in the movie, which is why I wasn’t offered a trainer, but I wanted to look like I had the ability to. And I really just got down and dirty with the character, but then I finally went on set; when you’re about to roll, all the “blubbity blue” you’ve been working on kind of messes with you. And you become a little bit detached.”

Note: S.H.I.E.L.D. the espionage and secret military law-enforcement agency was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965). The acronym originally stood for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. It was changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate and when the Marvel movies started hitting the scene, it changed once again to Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Official Avengers movie page.

Battleship – May 18

Based off the Hasbro game. … no, we’re not kidding.

Battleship is directed by Peter Berg who’s done a lot of TV, Prime Suspect (TV series), Friday Night Lights (TV series) & Trauma (TV series), but not much for producing movies. Alexander Skarsgård, who’s done Straw Dogs, and played Eric Northman in True Blood (TV series). Taylor Kitsch, John Carter, Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine , Friday Night Lights (TV series) and smoking hot Brooklyn Decker, Jessica Simpson clone, plays Sam(antha).

In the Hawaiian Islands, the naval fleet engage in intense battle against an alien race known as “The Regents”. The aliens come to planet Earth, to build a power source in the Pacific Ocean. The film is to show both sides of the story, the aliens’ as well as the humans’ so the audience knows exactly where the opponent’s ships are.

John Carter of Mars – June 8

You might remember Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights (TV series), or better as Remy LeBeau/Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. What’s interesting is that Edgar Rice Burroughs, played by Daryl Sabara, actually wrote himself in his own books as a surrogate nephew to John Carter.

John Carter

Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the Barsoom series of John Carter from 1912 – 1964. Captain John Carter is an Earthman, was a Virginian who fought in the American Civil war as a Confederate soldier. After the Civil War, Carter moved to the SW United States to work as a prospector. In 1866 he and his prospector partner strike wealth; but the partner is killed by Indians and Carter takes refuge in a cave where he is overcome by smoke produced by an Indian woman. Carter wakes up to find himself on Mars. While on Mars, Carter was believed to be dead by those who knew him on Earth, but he re-emerges in New York 10 years later in 1876, settling on the Hudson River.

John Carter appeared to die in 1886, leaving instructions for a Burroughs, who refers to him as an ‘uncle’ of the family, to entomb him in a crypt, and leaving Burroughs with the manuscript of A Princess of Mars with instructions not to publish it for another 21 years. He has no memory before the age of 30 and seems never to age. If you haven’t read the books, you can start with A Princess of Mars or you might be interested in the recent John Carter comic book, Warlord of Mars.

Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus – Jun 8

Director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi pic Prometheus has been shrouded in mystery for some time, up till now as the first crop of actor-revealing images appear in this week’s EW. We get a look at stars Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender in spacesuits on an unknown planet, a gigantic head statue, and what look to be primitive forms of the eggs seen in Alien. “What are they?? …. they look like eggs of some sort that house a creature that might kill all of us. .. let’s take a closer look and see.” We also get a peek at Charlize Theron and Idris Elba.

Long said to be a prequel to Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic Alien, the director recently revealed that the last eight minutes of Prometheus will “evolve into a pretty good DNA of the Alien one.” Keep an eye out for the trailer. Prometheus opens in 3D on June 8th, 2012.

Dredd - Sept 21

In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO

As in, Judge Dredd! Karl Urban, who played McCoy/Bones in Star Trek (2009), Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick, and Eomer in The Lord of the Rings, is playing Judge Dredd. Apparently, all you’ll see is his lower face since he’s not removing his helmet through the entire movie since it is verbotten, says the comic geeks, to show Dredd without his helmet. Directed by Pete Travis, who directed Endgame & Vantage Point. Also starring Olivia Thirlby, from Juno,

Dec 19 – The Hobbit Pt.1

2013

The Wolverine – Jan 1
Iron Man 3 – May 3
Man of Steel – June 14
RED 2 – Aug
Hancock 2 – 2013
The Flash – 2013
Teen Titans – 2013
X-Men Origins: Magneto – 2013
The Hobbit Pt.2- Dec 1

June 14 – Man of Steel

Henry Cavill is playing Superman in Man of Steel. You can check out our Analyses of the Superman Suit, here.

Man of Steel - Henry Cavill is Superman

Rumored

Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam
Venom
Flash Gordon
Luke Cage
Justice League – Mortal
Runaways
Lobo
Die Hard 5
Dorothy of Oz
Dracula 3D
Flash Gordon
Gambit
Green Lantern 2
HALO
Star Trek 2
Hellboy 3
Logan’s Run
Oblivian
R.I.P.D. – A recently slain cop joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him. Based on the comic by Peter M. Lenkov. R.I.P.D. is a Dark Horse publication. Staring Ryan Reynolds. … yes, Ryan Reynolds.
Deadpool (2014)
Sin City 2
Ant-Man (2014)
Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall
Wanted 2
Doctor Strange
Iron Fist
Nick Fury
Silver Surfer
Sub-Mariner
Thundercats

Tags: Avengers, Captain America, Conan, Cowboys & Aliens, Deadpool, Flash Gordon, Green Lantern, Immortals, Iron Man 2, John Carter of Mars, Judge Dredd, Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall, Man of Steel, Shazam, Sin City 2, Spider-Man Reboot, Star Trek 2, The Avengers, The First Avenger: Captain America, The Hobbit, Thor, Transformers 3, Tron, Tron Legacy, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
Posted in Conventions, Movies, Superheroes, TV | 41 Comments »

Captain America Movie

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Captain America Movie Coming

Chris Evans (The Human Torch in Fantastic Four) Plays Role Of Captain America

Chris Evans, the comedic Human Torch in both Fantastic Four movies, is filling the boots of Steve Rogers/Captain America. Evans signed for at least three Captain America films as well as 2012′s “The Avengers,” which will bring together Evans’ Captain America Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Ed Norton’s the Incredible Hulk and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.

Paramount is backing the first Cap movie “The First Avenger: Captain America,” but it’s directed by Joe Johnson, the guy who brought us 2010′s “The Wolfman” (Rotten Tomatoes RT:32) which apparently sucked raw eggs through a nasty bung hole! Captain America is scheduled to hit screens July 22, 2011, (yeah baby!) but COME ON… Joe Johnson??

I don’t have anything against this guy, other than he’s slated to make the Cap movie and I’ve never heard of him until I googled his butt, and a quick perusal of his past work on IMDB.com shows that the last time this guy ever sat behind a camera was friggin’ Hidalgo, (RT: 46), the story about the white half Indian horse rider starring Aragorn from LOTR, which didn’t totally suck but COME ON! that was in 2004! What the hell?! Where’s Johnson been these LAST 6 YEARS?

It gets better, the last movie before that was Jurassic Park III, (RT: 49) in 2001. Oh Jesus Christ! This movie better not suck. You haven’t seen angry until until you’ve seen 15 million angry, fat, disillusioned comic book geeks crawl out of their mother’s basement all jacked up on, Mt. Dew and Hot Pockets, to voice their expert dissent and disappointment at some director or actor totally FING up a superhero movie. It ain’t pretty. This better not suck!

Enough of my whining… Hugo Weaving (V, Mr. Smith (in The Matrix), Elrond LOTR) is s’posed to play the Cap’s arch-nemesis and Nazi butt hole/criminal mastermind Red Skull, which is a FANTASTIC pick. I can’t wait to see him all in red bloody makeup!

The Red Skull

“Who’s the Red Skull?” you ask? Well, if you’re not a comic book geek, then this gets complicated. Hell, I read comics and I still don’t fully understand it completely. See, there were three Red Skulls, apparently there was a drop in comic readership so Marvel needed more bad guys to spur sales.

The first two Red Skulls were Nazi agents and the third is a goddamn Communist… (word is we should expect the fourth to be a radical knife wielding Muslim). The Red Skull was first introduced in1941 in Captain America Comics #1. The first Red Skull was an American industrialist turned butt hole Nazi saboteur. The second Red Skull was just a long-time enemy of Captain America, something about sleeping with his ex or something.

The third Red Skull is the one behind the deaths of Peter Parker’s (Spider-Man) parents, which resulted in Peter being orphaned to then live under Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s roof, to later date a girl who was killed by either Green Goblin or Spidey himself, to eventually marry smokin’ hot supermodel MJ but then loose her to Mephisto changing reality taking it all back just so Spidey can save Aunt May who’s been shot, all after he came out of the superhero closet. .. told you it was confusing. Marvel will never, ever, EVER let poor Peter have an easy life. That poor sap.

Well, according to S.H.I.E.L.D. files, Johann Schmidt, (the original and current Red Skull) “is considered one of the greatest threats to humanity.” Guess someone should just give the Joker a crowbar, pistol and camera and Red Skull’s address and send him on his way to take care of ol big bad Red.

Regarding Steve Roger’s love

Captain America's Girlfriend

interest, the role of the Cap’s

sweetheart, Peggy Carter , is going to come down to choice between Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League) and Hayley Atwell (British actress from critically-acclaimed films like The Duchess and Mansfield Park – as well as parts in the TV events The Prisoner and The Pillars of Earth.)

You can check out and grab some of our Captain America T-Shirts & Merchandise here.

Tags: Captain America, Chris Evans, Red Skull, The Human Torch
Posted in Movies, TV | No Comments »

Captain America’s Back… sort of

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

captain america killed dead

Well, unless you’ve been living in a cave in friggen Tibet, or Pennselvania, then you probably know that Captain America is officially dead.Â Yeah, he’s been dead for several months now.Â Some chick killed him, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agent I think.Â I don’t really know because fraking comics are so goddamn over priced these days I wait to get them the following year when they’re all discounted or else shoved into a trade paperback just so Marvel and DC can make even more money, wringing us dry, from the same goddamn story that they made money from us the year before.Â Either that or it’s renting them from the local library, but then I have to beat the stupid goth crowd to the graphic novel section and I just can’t stand them posers.

captain america Regardless.Â Cap is back. … sort of.Â Of all the news sources, Fox News had to carry this story.

“Four months after Marvel Comics unexpectedly killed off the champion of liberty and the American way, he appears in a comic made exclusively for U.S. soldiers. He is seen on a videotape made before his death.

One million copies of “The New Avengers: The Spirit of America,” the fifth in Marvel’s series for the military, will be available free starting Saturday at military base stores worldwide.

The star-spangled Avenger’s appearance is expected to create a demand for the comic, once word spreads among collectors.

“If you really, really want one, you need to know someone in the military,” said Jim Skibo, director of support for the Dallas-based Army & Air Force Exchange Service, which is distributing the comic.

Captain America, whose secret identity was Steve Rogers, was felled by an assassin’s bullet on the steps of a New York federal courthouse in a July issue after 66 years of battling villains from Adolf Hitler to the Red Skull.

Captain America is not being resurrected in “Spirit of America,” said Bob Sabouni, Marvel’s vice president of business development.

But when AAFES asked Marvel officials to include the hero in the latest military issue to be released before Veterans Day, they agreed because no other character better symbolizes the heroism and patriotism of the American soldier, Sabouni said.

The story begins with Captain America on a videotape asking his fellow Avengers to protect a soldier serving overseas and her brother, a National Guard member stationed in the U.S., from a terrorist organization.

Marvel Comics previously announced that another person will take over the mantle of Captain America early next year. His identity has not been revealed, and the costume will be revised, said Michael Pasciullo, Marvel’s vice president of merchandising and communications.

Marvel Comics started the military series in 2005 after getting a call from a young boy, saying he could no longer afford to send comics to his two brothers serving in Iraq, Sabouni said.

Marvel sent the boy a box of comics but wanted to do more, so the company started working with AAFES to develop something just for soldiers. The military series has been very popular, with books selling quickly after their release.

“You have the fantasy aspect, but they’re staying true to our culture,” said Lt. Col. William Thurmond, an AAFES spokesman. “You can’t ask for anything more if you’re a comic book fan.”

Tags: Captain America
Posted in Comic Books | No Comments »

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