Modern comic books have been around for over 80 years, and it seems like their influence on pop culture increases with each passing decade. Characters like Superman and Spider-Man aren’t just fictional heroes anymore, but true cultural icons. It would seem that superheroes actually have the ever-advancing world of technology to thank for their increase in popularity. The internet spreads information about new storylines and upcoming film adaptations faster than ever before; technological advances (like CGI) have allowed comic book movies to create and display visually astounding sequences that no practical effect could ever hope to realistically pull off; fans can engage with their favorite comic book characters in ways never before thought possible, thanks to the power of video games. Superheroes and supervillains have become household names, more so than ever before.

There’s no denying it: comic books are officially mainstream. But not everyone is in love with this trend.

Much as been made in recent years of the concept of superhero movie fatigue, or the notion that the film industry has become so over-saturated with comic book films that the genre will soon fade out of existence. Steven Spielberg recently expressed his less-than-optimistic view on the future of superhero movies, with a predictable response coming from Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder shortly after. Whether or not comic book movies will lose their muster in the years to come, the genre and the paper-based medium that spawned it has undoubtedly gifted us some of the greatest characters in modern fiction.

And what’s a great character without a great adversary? History’s most legendary heroes are often measured by the greatness of their enemies. Perhaps if fan-favorites like Namor and Blue Beetle regularly faced off against the sort of bad guys you’ll see here, they’d have more prominent live-action appearances on their resumes. Here’s our list of the 12 Best Superhero/Supervillain Rivalries of All Time.

Batman and the Joker

Who better to kick things off than the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime? Batman has dozens of noteworthy bad guys in his rogues gallery, but these two have been squaring off in the comics for over 75 years now, and have come to epitomize the comic book archrivalry. George R.R. Martin once expressed boredom with the idea of similarly-powered showdowns between heroes and villains, but that certainly doesn’t apply here; the Joker and Batman are exact antitheses of one another.

Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy/world-class martial artist with a genius-level intellect who seeks to rid Gotham City of crime, while the Joker is a psychotic criminal mastermind whose lone desire is to stoke the fires of chaos and anarchy. The dissimilarities between the two are precisely what make them so great together.

Batman and the Joker have gone toe-to-toe on on many, many memorable occasions within the comic book world, but it’s the TV and film adaptations that have brought these nemeses to the forefront of popular culture. Whether you identify most with the duo of Keaton/Nicholson, Bale/Ledger, or even Conroy/Hamill, there’s little doubt that these two polar opposites have cemented their place in superhero history forever. With Ben Affleck and Jared Leto set to bring the pair to life once again—possibly even sooner than we thought—this rivalry seems to have a very bright future ahead.

The Best Superhero Rivalries of All Time

UPDATE: The DC & Marvel Movie Slates from 2014 – 2019 are now COMPLETE!

The fourth and final comic book movie superhero blockbuster of 2014 is finishing its run in theaters with Guardians of the Galaxy setting multiple world records for its August opening and many weekends since. Now, we can look forward to what the studios will bring in the coming years, especially after some major recent announcements from DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios/Disney.

Looking ahead has been made easier than ever thanks to the studios developing these comic book properties for film continuing to announce release dates further and further into the future (Marvel added six around Comic-Con), and Sony attempting to blow open the Spider-Man movie franchise with a slate of movies that feature other characters as the lead(s). Then of course, there’s Twentieth Century Fox who are finally going to bring their Marvel properties to the forefront with annual releases and a “serious” reboot of the Fantastic Four. They even announced an FF followup already alongside Deadpool.

Finally, there’s Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment who are using the followup to 2013’s Man of Steel to launch their own shared cinematic universe. They announced 9 additional DC movie release dates and just confirmed what they all are. Everyone wants a part of the shared universe pie and there’s a race to plant tentpoles for the future. As a result, we currently have over 40 DC and Marvel branded films scheduled to hit cinemas the next six years, with a few more still unannounced.

Updated: Deadpool has been announced by Fox and Warner Bros. unveiled its 2016-2020 schedule. Original article posted August 7, 2014.

2015

• May 1, 2015 – The Avengers: Age of Ultron
• July 17, 2015 – Ant-Man
• August 7, 2015 – Fantastic Four

2016

• February 12, 2016 – Deadpool
• March 25, 2016 – Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
• May 6, 2016 – Captain America: Civil War
• May 27, 2016 – X-Men: Apocalypse
• August 5, 2016 – Suicide Squad
• October 7 2016 – Gambit
• November 4, 2016 – Doctor Strange

2017

• March 3, 2017 – Wolverine 3 (Untitled)
• May 5, 2017 – Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• June 23, 2017 – Wonder Woman
• July 28, 2017 – Spider-Man (under Marvel-Sony partnership)
• July 14, 2017 – Fantastic Four 2
• November 3, 2017 – Thor: Ragnarok
• November 17, 2017 – Justice League

2018

• March 23, 2018 – The Flash
• May 4, 2018 – The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1
• July 6, 2018 – Black Panther
• July 13, 2018 – Unannounced X-Men Movie
• July 27, 2018 – Aquaman
• November 2, 2018 – Captain Marvel

2019

• April 5th, 2019 – Shazam
• May 3, 2019 – The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2
• July 12, 2019 – Inhumans
• June 14th, 2019 – Justice League 2

2020

• April 3rd, 2020 – Cyborg
• June 19th, 2020 – Green Lantern

Unlisted

• New Batman solo film
• New Superman solo film
• Sinister Six (now without a release date after Sony-Marvel deal)

Notes:

• 2015-16 is the calm before the storm. We go from three films to six, then from six to nine in 2017.
• We’re not counting any animated features – list is comprised of live-action theatrical releases.
• Sony has yet to date three of their movies.
• There are 30 DC/Marvel films currently scheduled (28 officially) from 2015-2020
• For all of the studios, the plan is mostly set from now until 2018 but after that we’ve yet to see or hear what’s happening from the studios with Marvel properties.
• Following Fox’s current trend, there will be at least 1-2 X-Men/FF movies in both 2019 and 2020 so we can add 2-4 to their number. (Recall: There’s interest and/or scripts ready for Deadpool, Gambit, X-Force) (Update: Deadpool has been added!) (Update 3: Gambit has been added!)
• Following Sony’s current trend, there will be at least one Spider-Man movie in 2019 and 2020 so we can add 2-3 to their number.
• Following Marvel’s growing trend, there will be at least 2-3 features in 2019-2020 so we can add 4-6 to their number.
• Conservative estimate is that there will be a minimum of 38 DC/Marvel movies over the next six years.  If the genre keeps performing as it is now, there will easily be well over 40. (Update 2: There are more now…) (Update 4: Spider-Man joins MCU, changing Sony’s franchise plans)
• Is your mind blown?
• Is the genre about to peak?

Previously: At Comic-Con 2014 there were expectations that Disney/Marvel Studios and Warner Bros./DC Entertainment would announce a series of titles and dates for their upcoming features but both held back entirely, likely to focus attention on their immediate future. With both studios now (officially) laying out plans for their future, we can expect more and more news soon, especially since some of these must begin shooting next year (Doctor Strange for Marvel and whatever DC’s 2016 feature is).

Let the speculation begin!

Over 40 DC & Marvel Movies Will Hit Theaters In The Next 6 Years [Updated]

If you haven’t picked a costume yet — or just want to know what you’ll be seeing a lot of at parties and parades this year — here are top 10 lists from two reliable sources: Google, which tracks the most-searched costumes, and the National Retail Federation, which polls consumers in early September.

First, Google lists the top 500 costume searches — you can even look specifically at your city to see what’s trending near you.

Nationally, here are the top 10 most-searched costumes of 2015:

1. Harley Quinn

What you need: Pigtails or a jester hat, and dual colors — usually red and black, although this lovely lady chose red and blue.

2. Star Wars

What you need: Just buy it already. Or, if you have a brown or black bathrobe you can pull off an Anakin Skywalker pretty easily. Still, every Jedi needs a light saber.

3. Superhero

What you need: Chiseled abs — or the foam to fake it. So many options here! Superman. Iron-Man. The Incredibles. Take your pick and find some Lycra.

4. Pirate

What you need: Embrace your inner Jack Sparrow for a swarthy-spooky-swashbuckling time.

5. Batman

What you need: The mask (duh). And a cape (he’s the Caped Crusader!). Optional: Utility belt. Optional: The abs (see “Superhero” above).

6. Minnie Mouse

What you need: Yellow heels, a polka-dot dress and a bow for your hair — er, ears.

7. Witch

What you need: Anything goes. The witch costume is a classic, in part, for its versatility. Go seamlessly from cleaning to trick-or-treating (carry that broom right out the door!). Go old-school with green face paint or a wart. Go low-maintenance by not plucking that chin hair. Pointy hat and striped socks are a plus.

8. Minions

What you need: Denim overalls. Goggles. Yellow facepaint. Boom. (But you still won’t meet Sandra Bullock, sorry.)

9. Joker

What you need: Green hair dye, white face paint and red lipstick for that creepy smile.

10. Wonder Woman

What you need: Gold sweat bands, a red tank top and a royal blue skirt. Or, in some cases, boy shorts. Buy some white star stickers (or, if you’re willing to throw out said skirt or boy shorts, just use White-Out) and you’re in business.

10 most popular Halloween costumes for 2015

With more than 27 million viewers, Stampy Cat boasts the world’s third-most popular YouTube channel.

His daily videos are beamed into homes around the globe and watched mainly by children, many of whom will never even have heard of Hampshire, England, where he lives.

If you are not aware of Stampy – otherwise known as Joseph Garrett – it must be that you have not played the video game Minecraft or do not have youngsters who play.

He creates daily videos showing the adventures and landscapes he creates using Minecraft’s building block technology and has become a sensation while doing so.

He will be the headline act as the Royal Society of Edinburgh stages its biggest-ever lecture in Dundee. More than 1,800 city pupils will be invited to an afternoon show at the Caird Hall on November 30.

Stampy will create a new Minecraft adventure episode on stage in the company of Dundee tech entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl, whose 4J Studies firm worked on console editions of the game.

He will also offer an insight into how he creates his videos and explain what it takes to be a successful YouTuber.

An evening show will be held on the same stage, with tickets available from the Dundee box office on Saturday.

The society’s Hannah Smith said: “We are really excited about our annual lecture. It will be a unique event.

“We have never before held an event on this scale but, then, we have never had a speaker like Stampy Cat before.”

Minecraft YouTube star Stampy Cat heading to Dundee

Following confirmation that the Nintendo Direct video series will continue in the wake of the passing of former host Satoru Iwata, Nintendo has now said there will be at least one coming later this year.

The Wall Street Journal reporter Takashi Mochizuki says on Twitter that new Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima confirmed the news today as part of the company’s latest earnings announcement. He didn’t share any further details, such as what the focus of the briefing might be.

However, one possibility is the first of Nintendo’s new smartphone games with DeNA. Kimishima confirmed that Nintendo will talk more about this in a meeting with investors on October 29.

“We will provide updates on our project with DeNA tomorrow,” he explained.

The first Nintendo-DeNA game is due out before the end of the year. However, we still don’t know much about it, or the new membership service that Nintendo plans to launch alongside it.

Nintendo Direct video presentations typically bring news about Nintendo’s upcoming lineup of games, hardware, and more recently, Amiibo figures. It remains to be seen if the video series will go in a new direction.

New Nintendo Direct Coming Before End of the Year

With less than two weeks to go before Fallout 4‘s release, Bethesda is focusing on launching the game, and has told fans not to expect news about post-release items such as mods right now.

Responding to questions on Twitter about Fallout 4 PC mods, Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines said, “If it’s ok with you, we’re gonna focus on the game release first and talk about mods when we’ve figured some stuff out.”

Fallout 4’s mod tools–the Creation Kit–won’t be available at launch on November 10, instead coming sometime in early 2016. Players can create mods on PC and then share them. In addition, some mods created on PC will be playable first on Xbox One before coming to PlayStation 4 later.

“The most important thing in our games is the freedom you have to create your own experience, and modding is a big part of that,” Bethesda said last month. “Like all our previous games, we’ve made sure to keep Fallout 4 open and moddable at every step in development. Early next year we’ll release for free the new Creation Kit for the PC. This is the same tool we use in the studio.”

Fallout 4 launches on November 10 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. In other recent news, the RPG has gone gold, while Bethesda has confirmed that it will not release a demo for the game. In addition, a leak revealed the game’s Xbox One control scheme, new abilities, and more, while the game’s list of achievements/trophies has emerged.

Don’t Expect Fallout 4 Mods News Soon

If you watch ABC’s Once Upon a Time like me, you know that the show’s style is just as eye-opening as its cliffhangers (WTF is going to happen to Emma Swan?!). The marriage of clever sci-fi and fairy tales can only be interpreted as one thing: the ideal Halloween costumes if you want to do Disney with an edge. Whether you want to look polished like the heroes (Belle, Snow, Ariel) or wickedly striking like the villains (Evil Queen, Cruella, Ursula), there’s style inspiration to be had! Keep reading to see close-ups of the hair and makeup looks you need to copy on Oct. 31.

Red Riding Hood, Season 1

Red Queen, Season 1

The Blue Fairy, Season 1

Snow White, Season 1

Evil Queen, Season 1

Belle, Season 1

Maleficent, Season 1

Wicked Witch, Season 3

Ariel, Season 3

Elsa, Season 3

Cruella De Vil, Season 4

Ursula, Season 4

Anna, Season 4

Merida, Season 5

Mulan, Season 5

Look Wickedly Beautiful in These Once Upon a Time Halloween Costumes

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson have reunited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their classic hit, Back to the Future. Not only has it been three decades since the movie came out, it’s also the day that Marty and Doc travel to in the sequel, Back to the Future Part II. The cast is still as lively as ever in their interview with the Today show, and Lloyd even quotes his famous line: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” Time to watch the movie (for the millionth time) in celebration! In case you didn’t catch it, you should also check out Fox and Lloyd’s minireunion!

The Back to the Future Cast Has Reunited For This Week’s Special Anniversary

As a show that centers on storybook characters in the modern-day world, it goes without saying that Once Upon a Time is overflowing with Halloween costume ideas. Why not put a new spin on those classic Disney characters this year? From the Charmings’ Enchanted Forest gear to Emma as the Dark One, here is everything you need to make your costume magical.

Emma Swan

What to wear: A red leather jacket, jeans, and boots. Don’t forget your sheriff’s badge and sword to ward off mystical dragons.
How to act: Tough but vulnerable. And like you do not believe in fairy tales.

Nine Once Upon a Time Halloween Costume Ideas

Here’s the latest on Marvel’s Jessica Jones Release Date, News, and Updates.

The Key art is an animated motion version of the Jessica Jones, which offers a glimpse at the look and feel of the upcoming series. It was published on Netflix’s official Youtube account, that got fans all excited for the series. A new trailer is expected to be also release on Friday.

“After a tragic ending to her short-lived Super Hero stint, Jessica Jones is rebuilding her personal life and career as a private detective in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s time the world knew her name…” The description of the video said.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones is a follow-up to Daredevil Season 1 that has also been renewed for Season 2 and scheduled to be released in 2016. This marks Jessica Jones as the second of four live-action adventure series from Marvel on Netflix (Marvel’s Daredevil launched in April 2015 and Jessica Jones will be followed by Luke Cage and Iron Fist, all leading up to the superheroes teaming up in Marvel’s The Defenders)

This also marks the second female protagonist from the Marvel universe to take on a major series of her own, the first was Marvel’s Agent Carter which feature Peggy Carter as the main protagonist. After the success of the series Marvel clearly saw a potential for female superheroes to take the lead, contradictory to people’s belief about them being just secondary characters.

Fans have been teased a lot in the past weeks, showing tiny bits of pieces of videos showcasing Jessica Jones life and super powers.

Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” premieres on Netflix in November 20, 2015

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Release Date, News, and Updates: New Key Art Revealed!

Marvel Future Fight and Contest of Champions do a great job of updating their respective games with new characters and stories. This is especially true when the mobile games coincide with the other parts of Marvel, whether it’s the movies, television series or even the comics.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. This week’s lot is a big one. I’m frankly exhausted just looking at that list, or maybe it’s just because I had to write all of that. Well, either way, it’s there, there are lots of games in it, and I hope you like Hallowe’en updates. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper Social [Free], the watchlist in the TouchArcade App [Free], or by participating in the TouchArcade forums, but this weekly summary is here to fill in the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!

Galactic Keep, $3.99 Friends, I love Galactic Keep to little tiny pieces. The game was pretty great to begin with, but the developer has been refining it even further by listening to player feedback. This update adds a hotly-requested feature, the ability to zoom the map in and out. Now you can check out the big picture and figure out your plans without having to scroll around so much. Of course, this update also includes the steak and potatoes of Update Mondays, performance improvements and bug fixes.

Demon’s Rise, $2.99 Speaking of busy beaver developers, Demon’s Rise makes yet another appearance in Update Mondays. This update brings a new character, the High Wizard, who has quickly become one of my favorites with his powerful magic. There are also some new magical items, and the app’s download size has been reduced. Rounding out the update are a few balance changes and several bug fixes.

Alphabear: Word Puzzle Game, Free Wishes being granted left and right this week! Alphabear‘s latest version includes an offline mode for those who want to play the game without an available internet connection. It’s pretty limited at the moment, but it’s proven difficult to implement and the developers felt it was best to have it out as soon as they could. They hope to improve it in the future, however.

MiniGolf Endless MMO, Free MiniGolf Endless MMO has a new party play mode that allows up to four people to pass and play. There is a new leaderboard and some new achievements to aim for, and you can now mute the music and listen to your own if you’d prefer. There are also some bug fixes and tweaks in this version of the game. The MMO credentials might be a little sketchy, but it’s certainly an enjoyable little time-waster.

Respawnables, Free Did you know? Hallowe’en is coming soon! It’s true. Respawnables is helping everyone remember with its pretty substantial holiday update. New Hallowe’en themed weapons, sets, and kits should keep you busy during the spooky season, and if you’d rather buy your way through than try to unlock everything by playing, you know Respawnables has you covered. But will any of these new implements of destruction match up to the Noisy Cricket?

Pyramid Solitaire Saga, Free Okay, look, I give King’s update notes a lot of grief, but credit where it’s due: in the latest notes for Pyramid Solitaire Saga, they not only make a reference to a little-known creature from Native American mythology, they actually describe it correctly in spite of a recent popular movie completely blowing it. Someone is doing their homework, and with no practical reason to do so. Anyway, Helena and Kingsley come afoul of the Apotamkin as they pursue the sarcophagus thief down the Mississippi River. Will they survive? Unless these are the last 15 levels ever for the game, my guess is yes.

PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist, $4.99 I honestly wasn’t expecting a content update for this game so quickly after its release, especially when it could easily just coast on its license and general quality for a little while. But here we are, with a new stages, some Hallowe’en costumes for the gang, new input options, some bug fixes, and performance improvements. Brofist!

Angry Birds Friends, Free Angry Birds Friends was the free-to-play Angry Birds before it was cool to be a free-to-play Angry Birds. It wouldn’t be surprising if Rovio left it behind given it never really seemed to catch on, but there’s still new content here and there. This update adds a Hallowe’en event to the game in the form of a tournament that will run until November 2nd. They’re also having a sale on Bird Coins, which are probably not globs of poop wrapped in tin foil? But I can’t say for sure.

Cally’s Caves 3, Free More Cally’s Caves for all good little boys and girls! The new version includes a huge new zone with a whopping 34 levels to play through. You’ll come across five new enemy types and three new weapons along the way, and a new boss battle that will put your skills to the test. This free content extends Cally and Rupert’s stories while fixing a few bugs and improving overall performance. It’s absolutely amazing how much this game keeps on giving.

Looney Tunes Dash!, Free For this year’s Looney Tunes Dash! Hallowe’en event, Bug has to escape from a haunted house owned by the Mad Scientist. Expect spooky Hallowe’en cameos a-plenty in these 15 levels, and collect the new set of cards based on the holiday. Pretty standard stuff for this game, but it wouldn’t be getting more content if people weren’t enjoying it, so overture, hit the lights, I guess!

Spectaculator, ZX Spectrum Emulator, $2.99 The latest update to Spectaculator, the Spectrum ZX collection, adds 20 more games to the set, bringing the total to 150 games. I’m not going to list them all, but of particular interest is the addition of several of Julian Gollop’s earliest turn-based tactics games, including all of the Rebelstar titles. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, Gollop is the creator of the X-COM series and basically a legend in the genre. Like most of the games in this collection, you’ll have to purchase these as additional IAPs within the base app. For making these historical titles available officially on iOS, I’m going to award Spectaculator the coveted Update Mondays Most Spider-Mans Of The Week award. The metaphorical celebratory vermouth is (not) on the way!

Subway Surfers, Free Oh, you know the Subway Surfers aren’t going to miss out on the Hallowe’en season. They’re visiting Transylvania this time, and you can count on it being as stereotypical as it gets. But you won’t be unlocking a vampire this time around. Instead, you’ll be unlocking a wolf, who is a teen, named Mike. Mike the teen wolf. Hmm. Well, anyway, there’s also a new board to get, the appropriately-themed Phantom Board. The collectible for this update is a ghost, so I guess you are busting them because it makes you feel good?

Card Wars – Adventure Time Card Game, $3.99 Hallowe’en updates for some, tiny plastic flags for others! So, yes, this is another Hallowe’en update. It includes some new vampire creatures, and of course some new quests involving Marceline. There’s also a new Marshall Lee quest to play through on the Fionna & Cake map, celebrating Marshall Lee’s addition to the game as a new Hero Card. If you’re impatient about getting those sweet vampire cards, you can just buy them up-front if you don’t mind spending some money.

Puzzle & Dragons (English), Free It’s not much to look at in words, but Puzzle & Dragons have added a third type to certain monsters, making them even more versatile and useful to your team. On the cosmetic side, dungeon entrance screens now look more like the dungeons you’re entering, which is sensible and good. Additionally, there have been a bunch of bug fixes and little balance tweaks made to the game. This one is still going strong, and although it’s not as big in the US as it is in Asia, it does seem to be picking up in popularity some thanks to those recent TV ads.

Lara Croft: Relic Run, Free Lara continues her search for the missing Carter Dotson in an all-new area, the snowy Mountain Pass. There are new enemies and bosses lying in wait, but Lara’s not all on her own. There’s a new vehicle and a new weapon to help her take out the baddies as she completes the new levels and objectives that advance the story of the game. The developers have also improved the tutorial, so if you were having trouble figuring out how to play this and somehow haven’t done yourself in with a pair of safety scissors, give it a try.

Marvel Mighty Heroes, Free I still can’t get over Thor’s “Dat Asgard” expression in the app icon, friends. Anyway, this is the 2.0 update for DeNA’s free-to-play Marvel game, which should not be confused for any of the other six free-to-play Marvel games, or even DeNA’s own free-to-play Marvel card game. The main changes include characters now coming in different rarity levels, with each costume being treated as a new character, skill sharing, an improved upgrade system, PvP battles, and a UI overhaul. There are a few other changes, so check them out if you’re interested. I’d love to see the icon updated with different Marvel Heroes making that facial expression, while we’re putting in requests.

Land Sliders, Free Another Hallowe’en update, but this one includes characters from Costume Quest, so it gets bonus points. Lots of bonus points. In addition to Wren and Reynold making guest appearances, some spooky creatures are here to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. There’s also Jack’s Quest, which has you searching for hidden lanterns, and a bunch of new world designs with appropriately-themed decorations and creatures.

Fallout Shelter, Free Fallout Shelter gets a long-awaited update with some new things for players to do. The new Survival Mode gives the game some extra bite, and you can now scavenge extra equipment from dead raiders. In terms of quality of life improvements, there’s now cloud support, the ability to skip the tutorial, and a new statistics page you can check out at your leisure. Is it enough to keep the game going? Well, I’m sure it will get a boost from its big brother launching somewhat soon, at least.

Earn to Die 2, $1.99 Not Doppler’s popular Earn To Die 2 has a new mode called Mission Mode in this update. You’ll have to unlock it first by completing the Story Mode, but once you’ve done that, you can test your skills on 50 missions spread across 10 levels. If you need extra motivation, there are some new achievements to earn for pulling all of this off. Do it! Earn to die! That sounds like a really bad deal but let’s not overthink things!

BADLAND, $3.99 The thrust of this update is that the game now has 3D Touch support, one of the few games to have it retrofitted in so far. This allows new quick actions, and seems to have also been the impetus behind the new Force Object editor tool that opens up new possibilities for puzzles and gameplay. The developers have also made a bunch of bug fixes to the game, particularly with regards to the level editor and its functions.

Sword & Glory, Free Hey, it’s Sword & Glory again, and so soon! Well, I won’t complain. This new version includes three new adventures, a new weapon, a screenshot button when you die, a new effect when you get wounded, and some fixes and tweaks to the camera’s behavior. Though it’s a bit crude in places, I really like the weird art style this game has going on, and it’s quite a bit of fun to play, too.

Flick Tennis Online, Free The Flick Tennis series has a long history on iOS, and the multiplayer Flick Tennis Online just got a nifty update that adds in support for ReplayKit and Everyplay, allowing you to record and share your greatest triumphs in digital mobile tennis, if that’s a thing you do. You can also view a complete match summary, if the replays aren’t enough. You can also earn experience points now, but the game doesn’t exactly say why they’re useful. But hey, if there are experience points, we want them, don’t we? The developers have also given the UI a complete overhaul.

Turbo Dismount®, Free Okay, so Hallowe’en is coming, but there’s another important event that concerns many gamers, and that’s October 21st, 2015, the day that Marty and Doc arrived in the future in Back To The Future 2. As such, we’ve seen some games go for a Back To The Future-themed update instead of Hallowe’en, and Turbo Dismount is one of them. Well, sort of, but they don’t have a proper license, so it might be best to think of this as a tribute. Any purchase will unlock the LeDorean vehicle, which is awfully familiar but probably just different enough. There’s also a new meat tenderizer helmet. Your guess is as good as mine as to how that connects with Back To The Future, but hey, it’s not like any of this is official, right?

Heroes and Castles 2, $1.99 Heroes And Castles 2 gets another thoughtful update from the good folks at Foursaken. This time, they’ve added an Easy setting that you can toggle on and off as you see fit. It makes the game easier at the cost of reduced experience and a lower chance of finding great items. The visuals have received some extra attention, making the game look even better than it already did. A couple of caps have been raised, with units now able to level up to level six, and your maximum number of heroes raised to ten from the previous limit of nine. Add in a couple of tweaks and bug fixes, and that’s the game.

Riven for iPad, $5.99 I know I’ve said I’m generally not going to include updates that are just iOS 9 fixes, but I’m making a couple of exceptions this week. Riven, the sequel to Myst, had issues going all the way back to iOS 8, but in the last couple of weeks, both the iPhone and iPad versions have been fixed up so that they work properly with newer hardware. These games might not seem like much now, but back in the day, Myst was a major driver of CD-ROM drive sales due to its popularity. Riven had a tough job following it, and while it wouldn’t match the previous game’s success, it’s still a noteworthy effort.

Secret of Mana, $7.99 I wasn’t terribly worried about it, but in case you were, happy news! Secret Of Mana‘s iOS 9 problems have been fixed, and the game now plays as it always has. I’m pretty confident Square Enix will get around to most of their big name games suffering compatibility issues with iOS 9, but I’m just about ready to give up on Drakerider, Song Summoner, and the couple of other less popular games in their line-up that broke with iOS 8.

That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!

Update Mondays: ‘PewDiePie: Legend Of The Brofist’, ‘Secret Of Mana’, ‘Marvel Mighty Heroes’, ‘Alphabear’, And More

Nerd alert: How the mazes of Dungeons & Dragons and pharma R&D compare

Tales of Zestiria price sliced to $37 plus free DLC on PC

Above: No, not Super Mario Maker — although, Nintendo should release a speedrun mode update for that game!

Image Credit: Nintendo

Watch the new Super Mario Bros. speedrun world record and despair, mortal

The separate phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been well documented. The first phase saw the introduction of each of the Avengers, culminating in a massive team-up movie that shattered box office records left and right. Phase Two gave us further development of old characters, as well as the surprisingly amazing Guardians of the Galaxy. Finally, it closed out with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, leading us to Phase Three.

The third set of Marvel movies will feature a new cast of heroes in their own standalone movies for the first time. These will release alongside sequels for Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Thor, as well as the two-part Infinity Gauntlet storyline.

But who are the new heroes that we’re soon to be introduced to? They haven’t yet found their way into the Avengers movies and largely exist as secondary characters in the comics. But don’t let that underscore their importance to the Marvel Universe: These heroes are the real deal.

1. Doctor Strange (November 4, 2016)

Known as the “Sorcerer Supreme,” Doctor Strange is a character with a comic history dating all the way back to 1963. Benedict Cumberbatch is set to portray the world’s most powerful practitioner of magic, introducing a whole new side to a Marvel Cinematic Universe that up until now has largely been rooted in science more than the supernatural. In the Avengers mythos, he largely sat out the Civil War storyline that saw most Marvel heroes take sides, but was still critical of the Superhuman Registration Act spearheaded by Tony Stark.

Only a few rumors have escaped as to what the Doctor Strange movie will be about, but if you were listening closely in Captain America: Winter Soldier, you may have noticed his alter alias, Stephen Strange, name-dropped by one of Hydra’s covert SHIELD agents, Jasper Sitwell. Strange’s powers include a mastery of sorcery and all things magic, and a genius-level intellect, which could potentially make for a thinking man’s Marvel movie (or at least we hope). Rumors are floating around that we might see Doctor Strange make his first appearance in Netflix’s Iron Fist series later this year, but they’re mostly unconfirmed (at least for now).

2. Black Panther (July 6, 2018)

For his part, we’re almost assuredly getting a chance to delve deep into Wakanda and the complex story of its chieftain. T’Challa has a long history of darting in and out of the Avengers, often finding himself torn between his home nation and the responsibilities of saving the world. We’ll get our first look at him in Captain America: Civil War, setting him up for his full feature-length the following year.

 3. Captain Marvel (November 2, 2018)

There’s a long, confusing comic history following the seven separate characters that have taken up the mantle of “Captain Marvel.” The movie releasing in November 2018, though, will focus solely on Carol Danvers, also known popularly as Ms. Marvel. It’ll mark the first MCU movie featuring a woman in the title role (sorry Black Widow, no movie for you), something long overdo in the world of superheroes.

Danvers is known in the comics to be a human/Kree hybrid after having her genes fused, something that’s been set up nicely by the appearance of the powerful alien race in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Agents of SHIELD. The Captain Marvel movie will air a year after DC’s Wonder Woman, making for the beginnings of a much-needed focus on the pantheon of female superheroes over 2017-2018.

4. Inhumans (July 12, 2019)

Despite having the release date pushed back a year by Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man deal, there’s been no shortage on Inhumans in the MCU (spoilers ahead). ABC’s Agents of SHIELD has them integrated heavily into the story now, with a small group existing together in the remote mountains of an undisclosed location. As the descendants of a race of early humans experimented on by the Kree, the Inhumans feature a vast array of powers, acting as a sort of alternative to the X-Men (currently owned by 20th Century Fox).

The Royal Family of the Inhumans that acts as the main group of characters in the comics likely won’t find its way onto Agents of SHIELD anytime soon, but audiences are already getting primed for a whole new group of heroes set to debut in 2019. We’ll have to settle for the tertiary members in the meantime on TV.

Your Guide to the New Heroes of Marvel’s Next Phase of Movies

Ever since it was announced that Idris Elba had joined the cast of Star Trek Beyond, details on who he plays has been kept tightly under wraps. We have been told nothing more than that his character would be the antagonist of the new Star Trek sequel. But now Idris is finally talking about his role in the upcoming threequel, albeit in vague terms. Elba promises that his Star Trek Beyond villain character will have an interesting complex journey and be an groundbreaking twist on the classic Star Trek villain.

MTV talked to Idris Elba while the actor was doing press for Beasts of No Nation, and first the first time spoke on the record about his upcoming role as the villain in Star Trek Beyond:

“Simon [Pegg] and the team have written a very interesting, complex journey for my character. You’ve never seen me play a character like this. … I think ’Star Trek’ has prided themselves as being quite classic when it comes to villains, like ’he’s a guy who wants to end the world,’ there’s no doubt about that. But in this version of the film, there’s a slightly different twist to that. It’s quite an interesting journey, which I think is groundbreaking for the franchise. But, it still keeps with the ’classic bad guy is a classic bad guy’ tone.”

Now there are a few things to unpack from this quote:

1. His character has “a very interesting, complex journey.”
2. In this film his villain has a “slightly different twist” on the classic Star Trek villain that is “groundbreaking for the franchise.”

He seems to suggest his character isn’t a “classic Star Trek villain” but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a character we’ve seen before in Star Trek history. Although, you’d think after the Star Trek Into Darkness Khan reaction that they would have decided to change focus on an original villain in this third film.

The early rumors suggested that Klingons would be the main villains in this movie. Those classic Trek aliens have not really had a big presence in previous installments, but writer/co-star Simon Pegg has been quoted as saying that Idris isn’t playing a Klingon. Of course, Pegg laughed and jokingly added a “Or maybe he will,” so we don’t know if thats a real denial of any sort. Remember, this is the same guy who insisted that those Benedict-Cumberbatch-as-Khan rumors were just “a myth.”

Idris also told MTV that he has been working “18-hour days” which could suggest that he is spending some time in the make-up chair at the start and end of each filming day. So I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Elba is playing a different more complex take on a Klingon villain from the series.

‘Star Trek Beyond’ Villain Is A Groundbreaking Twist For The Franchise