Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation review: There’s a ‘bird’, a plane and Ethan Hunt at his best
The first Mission Impossible movie was something rare – an intelligent blockbuster. The plot was dense and often, it was hard to follow who was double crossing whom. It eventually delivered a few iconic action scenes, turned Tom Cruise into a legitimate action hero and grafted a franchise worth billions. None of the sequels have been as lean and smart as the first directed by Brian de Palma and yet, they’re all entertaining as hell.
The latest installment, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation follows the formula to the hilt and while it isn’t a classic, it’s still very satisfying.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, it packages all the standard ingredients of a Mission Impossible movie into Rogue Nation.
1. Ethan Hunt (Cruise), on a mission that — gasp! — lands him in trouble.
2. A femme fatale, with a dubious motive.
3. A villain (Sean Harris) whose identity is unknown, but whose nefarious aims of global domination are obvious.
4. A snafu that compromises the entire Impossible Mission Force (IMF) and forces Hunt and his team to hide in the shadows and find whoever is responsible.
5. An enemy as well-trained as the IMF that wants to take out the IMF.
6. And Ving Rhames, in his trademark hat, who must clean up the mess and save Hunt.
McQuarrie is one of Cruise’s long time collaborators and an experienced Oscar-winning screenwriter who knows the Mission Impossible formula well enough to stick to the basics while adding details that mix things up. There’s no wasting time in Rogue Nation – Hunt’s mission goes haywire and the villain shows up very early on. Only this time, the bad guy is connected to the mysterious voice that generally asks Hunt if he wants to accept his mission.
Faust, the femme fatale, played by Rebecca Fergusson is without contest the most culturally significant female character in modern action cinema. Not only does Fergusson kick villainous butts in her action scenes, she does so with her acting too and successfully makes every other Bond girl and even Black Widow look artificial and wimpy. When a female character in a film is more interesting than Simon Pegg in a film, you know she’s something special.
The villain in Rogue Nation isn’t any old nemesis for Hunt. His supervillain activities are grounded in contemporary geopolitics and he’s always one step ahead of Hunt. It’s very satisfying to see Hunt going back to basics to snare the bad guy. And just when you think the origin of the The Syndicate is sounding filmy, McQuarrie springs a hilarious moment of subversion by bringing in a stoned British Prime Minister during the expository reveal.
Complementing the plot, the action does not disappoint – there’s a throwback to the motorbike sequence from MI:2, only McQuarrie shows you how director John Woo screwed that one up and how that stunt should be done. He manages an innate bond between Cruise and his bike at top speed – they just look awesome together.
Amazingly, the big action sequence is one you’ve already seen in the trailer. Not just that, it takes place in the opening scene instead of coming at the end of the film, as its climax. When the most anticipated scene happens at the very beginning, the film sets a bar for itself and happily, Rogue Nation meets it. Plus, if the plane stunt (executed by Cruise himself) doesn’t impress you, then the heart stopping underwater mission certainly will.
The final scene, on the other hand is rather unexpected because it is anti climactic. This may divide viewers, but there’s no denying how audacious it is of McQuarrie to develop a thematically-rich, subtle and elegant climax, rather than a nonsensical CGI orgy action set piece. McQuarrie demonstrates that character dynamics are sometimes more powerful than kung fu-karate-slow mo fights. Still, some might feel let down by the ‘lack of action’ at the end – after all they’re watching a Mission Impossible movie.
What everyone will agree on, however, is that the finale is way better than the cringe-inducing ‘Indian’ segment from the previous movie. If this is the direction that this franchise is taking, then it’s a good sign that there’s only a gap of two years until the next Mission Impossible.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation review: There’s a ‘bird’, a plane and Ethan Hunt at his best
High Tech Batman Character Design by Ryan Hong
Artist Ryan Hong created this visually riveting illustration that shows off a different type of costume design for Batman. He’s given the superhero a very high tech look that I thought was awesome enough to share with the rest of you. You can check out another high tech version of Batman here if you want. I always enjoy seeing new and different designs like this for the Dark Knight, and this version is pretty badass.
First Look at Jon Bernthal as The Punisher in Daredevil Season 2
The Punisher is my favorite superhero and I was beyond psyched that Jon Bernthal would be portraying him on the next season of Daredevil.
Thanks to Steven Weintraub of Collider, we have our first look at the vigilante on the set of the Netflix series, albeit a bit blurry.
Now I know the images aren’t the best quality, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m a bit bummed we don’t get to see the classic skull design, but I’m digging the military style haircut. I have no doubt that this will be the best interpretation of the character yet.
The second season of Daredevil will arrive sometime in 2016.
First Look at Jon Bernthal as The Punisher in Daredevil Season 2
Most Badass Superhero Hooded Jacket Designs Ever!
The first thing I should tell you about these amazingly badass looking hooded jackets is that they don’t actually exist. They are concept designs, but the seriously need to be brought to life, because they are the best superhero hoodies that I’ve ever seen! These are perfectly slick looking designs. I mean seriously… what geek wouldn’t wear these? I’d buy the whole collection!
The designs were created by Deviant Art user seventhirtytwo, and I really hope that one day they become a reality!
Spider-Man Fight Scene in CIVIL WAR is describbed as “Profoundly Dorky”
It was recently reported that Tom Holland completed his shooting his scenes in Captain America: Civil War. Before Holland was cast, though, Joe and Anthony Russo were already shooting scenes with Spider-Man in them. The character was being played by a stunt double in costume. According to Movies.Birth.Death.:
“It’s important here to know that Tom Holland shooting his bit isn’t the same as Spider-Man shooting his bit. Spider-Man has been on that set for a while, played by stunt men. All you need Tom Holland for is any Peter Parker scenes, because otherwise he can come into a local recording studio and loop Spidey’s dialogue at any point between now and release. Basically if Spidey’s mask is off you need Tom Holland, but every other scene happens without him.”
There’s no exact information on how much screen time Spider-Man will have in the film, but I was hoping that it would at least be the same amount of time that Evan Peters’ Quicksilver had in X-Men: Days of Future Past and that it would include one insane scene to get fans extremely pumped up for the character. According to this latest update, it sounds like that actually might be the case! The report goes on to explain that Spidey will have more screen time than we might be expecting and that it will include an exciting fight scene:
“Sources have recently made it clear to me that there’s more Spider-Man in this movie than I expected. Spider-Man doesn’t just swing by and say hi – gets his hands dirty in this Civil War. He fights. And his fight scene might be the one that really gets fandom excited – not because of how top tier the face-off will be, but because of how profoundly dorky and unlike any other big screen superhero fight it will be.”
The description of this fight scene being “profoundly dorky” and “unlike any other big screen superhero fight” is very cool to hear. This is exactly the kind of thing fans have been wanting to see in a Spider-Man movie, and it looks like we’re actually going to get it!
I’m really hoping that fans get their first look at the new Spider-Man at D23. It would be even cooler if they showed him in action, but I seriously doubt they’ll do that. If I were Disney and Marvel I would show off the costume but not show any footage of Spider-Man in any of the trailers or TV spots. Save that awesomeness for the movie!
Captain America: Civil War will be released in theaters on May 6th, 2016.
Spider-Man Fight Scene in CIVIL WAR is describbed as “Profoundly Dorky”
The Deadpool Trailer From SDCC Has Appeared Online, And I Hope You’re Wearing Brown Pants
If you didn’t attend this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, that means you missed out on all the cool new trailers for tomorrow’s hottest cinematic properties (mostly from DC Comics this year). This also means you’re probably searching YouTube for leaked versions of all the awesomeness you didn’t get to experience yourself, squinting intently just to make out every blurry detail some dude’s iPhone couldn’t capture.
Well, if that’s a case, here’s another leaked trailer worth your strained vision!
The cast and crew of Deadpool took to San Diego this year to promote their upcoming superhero flick, and brought a BADASS first trailer that hit the West Coast so hard, tremors could be felt up and down California (unconfirmed). But if you’ve somehow avoided all the Deadpool frenzy these last few years, here’s a quick recap: Ryan Reynolds is playing the Merc With A Mouth, it’s SUPER R-rated, totally breaks the fourth wall, and looks to redeem Reynolds’ first failed attempt at playing Wade Wilson.
If this first trailer is anything like the final product, I’d say that director Tim Miller is doing a damn fine job handling Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s supposedly dynamite screenplay. From what we can see, Deadpool is built on EVERYTHING his Wolverine incarnation isn’t. He can talk, his constant sarcasm is definitely present, he curses like a sailor, kicks loads of ass, and looks like an “avocado had sex with an older avocado.” Reynolds even squeaks in a dig at his lackluster run as Green Lantern as well, shouting “…and please don’t make the super suit green! Or animated!” right before his operation. Can someone please explain why this movie took SO LONG to get greenlit?!
Joining Reynolds are Morena Baccarin as Copycat, Ed Skrein as Ajax, T.J. Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Andre Tricoteux as Colossus, and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (who has THE COOLEST NAME EVER according to Deadpool). It’s a cast that’s built for both action and comedy, which drives home the fact that Miller knows the Deadpool movie fans want – nay – NEED.
Since this is only the leaked version, be sure to check back for the official release of the Deadpool trailer, and then raise your chimichangas for a celebratory toast! Of course, you’ll have to wait until February 12th, 2016 for the film’s actual release, but based on this first taste of content, it’ll be damn worth the wait!
The Deadpool Trailer From SDCC Has Appeared Online, And I Hope You’re Wearing Brown Pants
Rachel McAdams Eyed For Marvel’s “Dr. Strange”
Rachel McAdams is in early talks to play the female lead in Marvel’s DR. STRANGE. The film follows Benedict Cumberbatch as a neurosurgeon who becomes Sorcerer Supreme, protecting the Earth against magical and mystical threats. While talks are in the early stages, McAdams would most likely play Clea, a prominent member of Doctor Strange’s supporting cast and his love interest.
She would join Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Baron Mordo, an enemy of Dr. Strange, and Tilda Swinton, who is rumored to play the Ancient One, Dr. Strange’s mentor. Sinister helmer Scott Derrickson is directing a script by Jon Spaights.
This is not the first time McAdams has been rumored to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She was said to be Jon Favreau’s first choice for Pepper Potts in Iron Man, a role that ultimately went to Gwyneth Paltrow.
McAdams currently stars on the second season of HBO’s True Detective (read this week’s review here). She can also be seen opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in boxing drama Southpaw, which opened this past weekend.
Dr. Strange has a release date of November 4th, 2016.
The 13 Most Powerful Villains in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
Problems with Superhero movies generally occur when the laws of the world aren’t clearly defined. In a totally made up world, what makes one being more powerful than the next? The rules. The laws of the world. Or the laws of the universe, as Marvel’s case may be.Seven years after Iron Man, Ant-Man wraps up Marvel’s Phase 2. And in that time, the universe has expanded mightily. One of the nice things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that when viewers speak of the 12 films that currently make up the MCU, we’re dealing with a very big world. Big enough to house evildoers from different galaxies. But are these villains bound together under one universal law?
Perhaps not. Do we really know how Thanos would fare against Ultron? Not from the big screen we don’t. But isn’t it fun to think about?
So, in an effort to make the MCU a little bit smaller, to more clearly understand the rules of the land, let’s theoretically combine every movie in the MCU, by finding the most powerful villain among them.
THE RULES
The villain can’t be a henchman or a creature, like Leviathan or Destroyer, who is thoughtlessly doing someone else’s bidding -since that inherently makes their commander more powerful. Each villain must be from the 12 MCU movies, and what we know of that villain must come from the movies. To be more powerful than another, each villain must possess not just amazing abilities, but also diabolical ambition, and smarts enough to pull off such schemes.
So, without further ado, here are Screen Rant’s The 13 Most Powerful Villains in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.
Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger
It’s hard to think of ‘The Dude’ as being one of the most powerful… anythings, but that’s the range of the great Jeff Bridges (plus, when playing a supervillain, it helps to be bald). It also helps to have an Arc Reactor-powered suit of armor, even if it is a little less refined when compared to Tony Stark’s. If fans really stopped to think about it, Obadiah’s relationship with the Ten Rings terrorist group is the reason Tony Stark wound up in a cave with shrapnel threatening to kill him in the first place.
Without Obadiah, we would have no Iron Man, which is power in its own right: the power to create an opposing power. While threatening and clearly willing to be brutal to succeed, Stane’s more of a ruthless businessman than a powerful supervillain. He had the means to immortalize his reign of weapons supremacy, but it takes more than a powerful suit to get far in the villainy business.
Ivan Vanko / Whiplash
He’s resourceful enough to forge an alliance with Justin Hammer, and cunning enough to take advantage of that alliance to create and take control of an entire armored drone team – including War Machine. But Vanko’s passion is clouded by vengeance just as much as its fueled by it: he can’t see past Tony Stark. Though he’s got electric arm extensions, his reach is too short to climb any higher on this list.
The Winter Soldier
Poor Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Such a sweet kid, and then those Cosmic-Cube-obsessed Nazis went and turned him into one of the most feared assassins in the history of war. And peace for that matter. With an arm that can stop a freight train, and singularity of purpose, he’s a powerful foe. But the aggressive abuse and reprogramming he has undergone to become HYDRA’s lapdog means he’s just not diabolical enough to be the most powerful villain; his ambition is too low.
The Winter Soldier doesn’t seek to take over the world. He demands only a mission, wants only to kill who he’s told to kill (to be clear, he is really, really good at that). Plus, he gets bonus evil points for cybernetic body parts and spending long periods of time in a cryogenic state.
Darren Cross / Yellowjacket
Like many on this list, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) is one smart cookie, a brilliant whiz kid scooped up by Hank Pym – to be mentored and nurtured in his own image. He’s also a ruthless businessman, who squeezed out his old boss to become the (wondrously unethical) new one. A serious lack of business ethics can be helpful in the villainy game.
Obsessiveness can be a good thing, driving innovation – and obsession has a lot to do with why and how Cross developed the Yellowjacket suit. It’s an impressive suit, no doubt, which could change the way war is waged around the globe. But that obsessiveness doesn’t leave enough room for other worldly desires; his craving for affirmation seem relatively minuscule, at least compared to the villains ahead.
Johann Schmidt / Red Skull
In a film that feels more realistic than any other Marvel movie (until the release of Cap 2), Schmidt’s (Hugo Weaving) disturbing abnormality is even scarier. The scientist was powerful before he flew too close to the sun and dosed himself with Super Soldier Serum. Red Skull’s got the ambition to take over the world – and the charisma to draw thousands of soldiers to his cause – and with the power of HYDRA and the Tesseract behind him, he comes closer than most.
Granted, he’s not trying to rule the galaxy, but during Schmidt’s time no one had even flown to space yet, so galaxy ruling may have been dreaming a little big, even for a nefarious supervillain.
Aldrich Killian
Unlike the Biblical hero Samson, Aldrich (Guy Pearce) had to ditch his locks in order to harness true power. But once he did, the would-be Mandarin masterminded his own form of strength, fueled by alienation and resentment. A brilliant business-minded scientist able to harness the power of Extremis (after blowing up some of his test subjects), Killian is obviously well represented in the smarts department.
Not only does he wield the explosive power of Extremis, but he commands a squad of soldiers who are also Extremis-enhanced. We mustn’t forget the ability to regenerate body parts and breathe fire – tricks every supervillain would wish for. And with a goal of owning the War on Terror, his ambitions are certainly up there, though not as high as they could be; financial gain and revenge aren’t nearly as villainous as ruling and enslaving.
Nebula
In comic books and in nature, weak beings don’t become powerful. Above all else, one must be tough to reach the top. And budding villains don’t get much tougher than the deadly assassin daughter of Thanos. Nebula (Karen Gillan) even goes so far as cutting off her own arm – that’s 127 Hours tough. It isn’t as painful a task, obviously, given her cybernetically-replaced and tweaked body parts (which, as you’ll recall from the Winter Soldier, are worth evil bonus points). She’s ruthless in nature, with perhaps no better example than her willingness to kill her own adoptive sister, Gamora.
Beyond ruthless, tough, and regenerative, Nebula can also fight with the best of Marvel’s martial artists. She’s opportunistic too, willing to give up her life-long ties to Thanos in order to serve Ronan, who appears to be the right horse to back at the time. But in such subservience to power lies her weakness, and the reason she’s not higher on this list.
Malekith the Accursed
If we were basing this list solely on how scary a villain looks, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) would probably take top honors. Still, the leader of the Dark Elves is scary in plenty of other ways as well. Having an army of Dark Elves helps, and though his ambition stems from revenge, it goes well beyond that of avenging just one man, or one people. No, Malekith wants to plunge the entire universe back into eternal darkness.
Experience counts in the power rankings too, and Malekith has been around since before there was light. But what really sets Malekith apart is the weapon he wields: the Aether, which, as Odin says, can achieve, “infinite destruction.” And were it not for his own ship – and Thor, of course – Malekith could easily have seen the darkness of such destruction.
Loki
Odin’s least favorite son has plenty of abilities, and his fiendish ambition is greater than the Nine Realms. Unfortunately, Marvel’s reliance on his villainous plotting makes it hard to take him seriously at this point. Does anyone really believe Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will come close to succeeding in taking over whichever world he’s intent upon taking over? Won’t he always just be a puny god? Perhaps, but it’s still good to be a god. Especially one who – according to Thor: The Dark World – is currently sitting on the throne of Asgard, even if he’s doing so in the shape of his own father.
There’s no denying his power, stemming both from the royal Frost Giant blood that flows through his veins, and the fact that he’s been reared by gods – a serious boost in power rankings. Plus, Loki’s got powerful friends who give him alien armies and Infinity Stones to play with… which seems a bit reckless, in hindsight.
Abomination
In The Incredible Hulk, General “Thunderbolt” Ross has all the taking-over-the-world ambition you could ask for, but he doesn’t have Super Serum flowing through him, so his powers are limited.That rules him out as a heavyweight villain in the MCU, but Ross’s main goon, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), has ambition enough to self-medicate with gamma radiation for the purposes of greater evil.
While Abomination has plenty of power, he’s seriously lacking in when it comes to strategy or methodical planning. Still, he holds his own with the Hulk – and not many villains in the MCU can brag about doing that. Since Hulk beat the snot out of Loki in The Avengers, and since Abomination much went toe-to-toe with the big green juggernaut, it’s easy to see that Abomination is one of the MCU’s most underappreciated villains.
Ronan the Accuser
First of all, Ronan’s (Lee Pace) harboring enough hate and resentment to make even planetary Xandarian genocide seem like justice. Genocidal tendencies are necessary in a first class supervillain, but gumption is just as important. And what could be more gumptious than picking a fight with Thanos the Mad Titan? His betrayal of Thanos may have simply been opportunistic, but even if that’s a questionable moral trait, it’s a useful skill in the villain game.
For a measure of his fighting abilities, look no further than the licking he puts on Drax the Destroyer, even before he puts an infinity stone in his Warhammer. Really, nothing says powerful supervillain quite like a Warhammer, does it?
Ultron
No supervillain on this list can deliver a soliloquy quite as menacing as Ultron (James Spader), which can be a benefit in keeping power, since it takes a special breed of hero to mess with such an evil-sounding supervillain. Of course, Ultron doesn’t just battle one such hero, but an entire Avenging team of them. Since his power stems from within the Infinity Stone-laden Scepter gifted to Loki by Thanos, he almost destroys the mighty Avengers just like he promised he would in the aforementioned soliloquy (and humanity along with them).
Mankind’s eradication is exactly the kind of ambition we’re looking for on this list. Plus, having an army of robot drones doing your bidding, helping you to that cause, spikes the power numbers significantly. And a sense of humor shouldn’t be under-appreciated, either.
Thanos
Though his powers aren’t fully on display just yet, Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) reach extends to nearly every movie. The Dark Lord ranks high in the ambition department, considering his goal is to control existence. He already oversees a big chunk of prime galactic real estate, fortified by his dominion over the Chitauri. You know what’s better than controlling an army of robots or Dark Elves? Controlling an army of cybernetic aliens. Not only are the Chitauri a powerful force, but they allow Thanos to dangle their allegiance as bargaining power for Infinity Stones.
Thanos’ hunger for the Stones creates the need for two of the most powerful superhero teams around; if your moves lead directly to the creation of both the Guardians of the Galaxy AND the Avengers, then you are obviously making powerful moves. So with bonus points for being in love with Death, Thanos takes the top spot in this MCU power ranking.
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In the end, you wouldn’t want to meet any of these supervillains in a dark alley (unless you’re at Comic-Con cosplay party). But while all are powerful, there’s a pecking order to villainous supremacy. Still, power is fleeting, capricious, and up for debate. So let us know if this is indeed your order of the Marvel villainous universe.
The 13 Most Powerful Villains in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
Captain Marvel Won’t Be in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2′
After years of chatter, Marvel finally confirmed last year that Captain Marvel would become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Exactly how and when she’ll make her first appearance is unclear, but we now know one thing for sure: it won’t be in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Director James Gunn said as much this weekend. And while we’re at it, he downplayed talk of Venom‘s potential involvement as well. Read the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Captain Marvel comments after the jump.
Gunn issued the Guardians of Galaxy 2 Captain Marvel denial to a fan on Twitter:
Gunn did say months ago that Carol Danvers would not appear in his upcoming superhero sequel. However, that was before Marvel had formally announced that the character would be joining the MCU, and it was reasonable to wonder if he just wasn’t allowed to say. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, though, his denial holds more weight.
A few minutes later, Gunn also shrugged off questions about a possible symbiote plotline.
That’s not quite as unequivocal a denial, but still, it sounds pretty certain that Venom and his ilk won’t be a part of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Gunn is staying tight-lipped about which new characters we’ll see in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but he’s been a bit more open about which ones won’t be. He’s already ruled out Gladiator, Bug, Rom: Spaceknight, Richard Rider a.k.a. Nova. The first film’s villain, Ronan, isn’t returning either.
Most of those omissions come down to rights issues. However, Gunn has specifically said he’s avoiding Richard Rider and Carol Danvers because he wants Peter Quill to be the only Earthling for now. That probably means we can go ahead and assume most of the other Earth-based Marvel characters aren’t going to show up, either.
As for whom we might see, Gunn recently said he has plans to introduce one of his favorite superheroes — possibly Beta Ray Bill, Starhawk, or Adam Warlock based on his previous comments. He’s also stated that he wants to add more female characters to the franchise, but hasn’t gotten more specific on that front.
RUMOR: Jena Malone’s BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Role Finally Revealed
It was initially reported that Jena Malone (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) had been cast as Carrie Kelly/Robin in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but a new report states otherwise, and the role is no doubt a much better fit for her! Hit the jump for details…
Maybe not! According to Latino-Review, Malone has actually been cast as Barbara Gordon, a character better know to us all as either Batgirl or Oracle! They’re not sure what exactly her role in Batman v Superman will be, but Snyder could really go either way with the character here.
Malone always seemed a bit old for Carrie, and Barbara – another redhead – seems like a much better fit overall. The movie could portray her as Batgirl, Oracle, or perhaps most likely in a flashback to The Joker shooting her presumably at the same time we see the Clown Prince of Crime murdering Robin (who will apparently be played by Zack Snyder’s son). We’ll have to wait and see, but which version of Barbara would you most like to see her as? As always, let us know below!
RUMOR: Jena Malone’s BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Role Finally Revealed
‘Marvel Heroes’ Updates With New A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event, Major Changes To Jean Grey
As promised, the revised A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event is returning to Marvel Heroes today. The event, which usually occurs at least once a month, is drastically different from its previous iteration. Marvel Heroes players now have an opportunity to pick up an Ultimate Upgrade Token, purchase new A.R.M.O.R. gear, buy new enchants, and much more.
Marvel Heroes‘ restructured A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event is very different from its previous installment. The event’s currency, A.R.M.O.R. Drives, formerly dropped anywhere in the game usually one at a time. Now, players will need to find A.R.M.O.R. Intel Powerups off of any mob in the game. These Powerups will direct the player to defeat a boss that will drop a guaranteed set of 50 A.R.M.O.R. Drives.
The A.R.M.O.R. Drives can still be used to buy unique items and artifacts like before. However, Marvel Heroes players can now buy powerful enchantments, new unique items, and improved versions of previous unique items. The new enchantments, for example, are similar to those available from the Enchanter now only more powerful. The A.R.M.O.R. Summoned Ally Upgrade increased summoned ally damage by five percent instead of three percent.
Marvel Heroes
Marvel Heroes‘ A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event now live
Lastly, the new A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event in Marvel Heroes also gives players a week to complete a new quest. This quest, entitled A.R.M.O.R. Defender, will reward the player with an Ultimate Upgrade Token which ranks up a character’s ultimate power by one. Each character can level their ultimate ability up to a maximum level of 20.
The update was about more than the new, revised A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event, though. A huge update to Jean Grey was also included in the patch. The character now benefits from three specializations off of her Dark Phoenix ability much like Doctor Doom and Rocket Raccoon have off of their The Will of Doom and H7 Fleetslayer respectively. Choosing one of these specializations will let Jean Grey perform well in one of three playstyles; Jean-only, Phoenix-only, and a hybrid between the two. Other mechanical and power improvements were made to Jean Grey as well. Interested Marvel Heroes players should check out the official patch notes for all of Jean’s changes.
Aside from the new A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event and Jean Grey’s overhaul, the update also included a mandatory trial for those wishing to enter Cosmic Midtown. After the trial is completed on one character, only that character will be able to enter Cosmic Midtown. The trial is located in a normal Midtown through a portal on the east side of the map.
Finally, another 15 percent bonus G sale is happening, a new Double Token Random Hero Box is now available for 450 Gs, and a new costume for Jean Grey for 950 Gs is out now. There is even a buy one, get one sale on costumes underway as well. Jean Grey’s New X-Men Costume is not eligible for the costume promotion, though. The G sale, BOGO, and new Double Token Random Hero Box promotions will end on Monday, July 27.
Marvel Heroes updated with a new event today and often has events constantly running. The game just updated with Ant-Man as a playable character with War Machine, Kitty Pryde, Iron Fist, and many more to come before the year is over.
‘Marvel Heroes’ Updates With New A.R.M.O.R. Incursion Event, Major Changes To Jean Grey
Chris Evans Reacts To The Spider-Man Casting
After a long process filled with casting woes and a battle between studios, Marvel and Sony have officially crowned their new Spider-Man. Nineteen-year-old Tom Holland of The Impossible and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea is joining the MCU and will make his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War, alongside Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chadwick Boseman and a whole slew of new and returning characters. To welcome his new comrade into the Marvel fold, Evans took to Twitter to congratulate the young actor.
Evans is busy reprising his role as the star-spangled Avenger on the set of Civil War. As Holland is making his way to work alongside this Marvel movie vet, Evans took some time for a celebratory tweet. And, as opposed to all the haters responding to it, the actor seems pretty stoked to have Holland come aboard. According to reports, Holland had the opportunity to work alongside Evans during his extended audition process.
The race was said to be down to Holland and Charlie Rowe. Thankfully, Rowe was a good sport about the matter and he also congratulated Holland on landing the gig.
On Wednesday, Marvel made the official announcement that Holland would succeed Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the next live-action web-slinger in a feature film. We don’t know too much about what to expect from this new iteration of the superhero, but the reason such a young actor was cast was to really honor the roots of Spidey being an unpolished, self-trained high school superhero. According to the latest rumors and reports, it looks like this Spider-Man will only have small role to play in Civil War. Nevertheless, Feige said Holland had to immediately report for duty on the set.
Asa Butterfield, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer and Charlie Rowe were also up for Spider-Man at one point or another, but it was thanks to a slew of screen tests that helped Marvel and Sony finalize their decision. Downey was flown in to help test his chemistry with the young hopefuls, as Tony Stark reportedly shares scenes with the wall-crawler.
Captain America: Civil War takes its story straight from the comic book arc of the same name. After an international incident involving the Avengers, the governments of the world band together to try and regulate superhuman activity. This new political move splits the Avengers in half into Team Captain America, which opposes the action, and Team Iron Man, which supports it. The film also features the return of Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd and Frank Grillo, as well as newbies like Boseman, Martin Freeman, Daniel Bruhl and William Hurt. After making his first appearance in Civil War, Holland will go off to star in his own Spider-Man movie, which is set for a theatrical release on July 28, 2017.
Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016.
Olivia Munn Is Ready to Kick Ass as Psylocke in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
For those who don’t know, Olivia Munn will be playing Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse. I think she’s perfect for the role. She looks the part, is geeky enough to have an idea of what it should be, and she is very… er… attractive. That’s the gentlemanly way of saying it. For anyone who has any doubts though, check out this video that she posted on Instagram. She’s been training with swords for the role, and she looks like she’s getting it down pretty amazingly. I’ll be looking for more X-Men: Apocalypse news, but this is some good hype.
Olivia Munn Is Ready to Kick Ass as Psylocke in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
Gal Gadot on Why Her Wonder Woman is Inspiring andd Grant Morrison on Why It’s Not!
Here are a couple of different opinions on Zack Snyder‘s version of Wonder Woman that I found interesting. The character is being portrayed by Gal Gadot, and she will make her first appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. We got to see a little bit of her in action already in the most recent trailer that was released. For the most part, fans seemed to like what they saw.
While talking to Interview Magazine, Gadot discussed her character, what she wanted to see from it, and why she feels this vision of the character is inspiring:
“I told them that I wanted to be able to show the stronger side of women. I didn’t want to do the obvious role that you see in Hollywood most of the time, which is the heartbroken girl who’s waiting to be rescued by the guy, blah, blah, blah.
I’m so excited about this role. I feel like I’ve been given a huge opportunity to inspire people, not only women. And not because of me but because of who Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. There’s a lot of responsibility. But I have the best team and the best people to work with. It’s going to be an amazing ride, knock on wood.”
It’s awesome that she’s so excited for the role, but comic book writer Grant Morrison seems to have a very different outlook on how the character is being handled. He wrote the upcoming Wonder Woman: Earth One, and while talking to Nerdist he expressed his concern that Gadot’s portrayal will not be in line with Wonder Woman creator William Marston‘s original vision.
“[The warrior woman thing is] not what Marston wanted, that’s not what he wanted at all. His original concept for Wonder Woman was an answer to comics that he thought were filled with images of blood-curdling masculinity, and you see the latest shots of Gal Gadot in the costume, and it’s all sword and shield and her snarling at the camera. Marston’s Diana [Prince, the character’s real name] was a doctor, a healer, a scientist.”
He went on to question whether Amazonian women in the society that brought up Wonder Woman would have even been interested in violence as some assume.
“What would a society of immortal women that’s been around for 7,000 years have done? They wouldn’t still be chopping men’s heads off; they’ve got art and architecture and philosophy and poetry and it’s got nothing to do with men.”
He makes some really great points here. That’s just not Zack Snyder‘s style, though. He’s all about cool visuals and kicking ass. Wonder Woman was never a “heartbroken girl who’s waiting to be rescued by the guy,” she was always a great strong female character in the comics, Snyder and Gadot are just taking her to the extreme.
Are you happy with the new Wonder Woman that we’re seeing, or would you rather see a version of the character that falls more in line with Marston’s vision?
Gal Gadot on Why Her Wonder Woman is Inspiring andd Grant Morrison on Why It’s Not!
Scooby Doo Gang Styled Through The Decades of The 20th Century
Illustrator Julia Wytrazek has used Scooby-Doo and the gang as a way to explore fashion in the 20th century. She retains the group’s familiar colors and imagines how what type of person in that era would be. On Wytrazek’s site she breaks down the thinking behind each decade’s clothes and what type of person they are. For example, Daphne is a flapper in the ’20s, Fred is a soldier in the ’40s, Velma is an adventuring archaeologist in 1910, and Shaggy is a punk rocker in the ’80s. Wytrazek does a great job of adapting each character and keeping the spirit of each intact across nine decades and illustrations.
H/T: Geek X Girls
Photo of dogs ‘hugging’ goes viral, saves the pups from being put down
Part of the post reads:
“If no one saves us, someone will take her away from me… She gave me hope when I had non. Now it’s over. Unless…”
Just two hours after the photo was posted, the doggie duo was adopted.
The original post was shared nearly 9,000 times, and the picture of the pups with their new owner has been liked over 20,000 times.
Photo of dogs ‘hugging’ goes viral, saves the pups from being put down
Weekend Box Office: Ant-Man Squashes Competition, Still Short By Marvel Standards
Amy Schumer’s new comedy Trainwreck bowed in at number three, just below Minions which dropped over 55%. The little yellow sidekicks pushed pass the $200 million mark, but despite their strong opening last weekend, aren’t likely to catch up with Pixar’s Inside Out. That movie added $11 million this weekend, hitting a domestic total of $306 million.
Jurassic World banked $11 million as well, passing the $600 million mark and becoming one of only four movies in domestic history to cross that line. In the next couple of weeks it should just inch past Marvel’s The Avengers‘ $623 million total to become the third highest grosser ever, but it will be hard pressed to hit the $658 million Titanic banked back in 1997.
Two small releases, Ian McKellen’s Mr. Holmes and Indian drama Bajrangi Bhaijaan duked it out for tenth place. While both movies made admirable showings in the per theater department, Holmes faired slightly better overall, narrowly grabbing tenth place.
For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:
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Weekend Box Office: Ant-Man Squashes Competition, Still Short By Marvel Standards
Marvel Just Announced All Of These New Movies With Release Dates And Title Art
Here they are in chronological order…
More updates on the title and what we might expect from the next Captain America film here!
Benedict Cumberbatch was not specifically confirmed at the Marvel event today, as that deal may not be finished yet. But he’s reported in talks for the role.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2‘s release date has been moved up from July 2017 to May of 2017.
Thor Ragnarok has taken over the previously set GATG 2 date of July 28, and we also now know that Loki will be back!
Black Panther is lined up for November of 2017, and Chadwick Boseman is confirmed to star.
Marvel will release Captain Marvel in July of 2018, and it looks like Carol Danvers is the Captain Marvel we’re getting. Here are our suggestions of who should play her.
Avengers: Infinity War Part I will release May 4, 2018. Avengers: Infinity War Part II will arrive in theaters May 3, 2019. Here are some things to know about Infinity War.
Inhumans now sits at the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s plans for Phase Three, and will be in theaters on November 2, 2018. Like the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Defenders, this is yet another team of powerful individuals coming to the big screen, and this one splices in all kinds of interesting alien mythology and puts on display some incredibly cool abilities.
Will Xena: Warrior Princess Ever Return? Here’s What Lucy Lawless Says
In an interview with Den of Geek Xena star Lucy Lawless was asked if she would ever like to play the titular role again. Her answer was more than clear.
I’ve been pitching that, actually…The fans really do want that, and I’ve met some people who’ve crowdfunded some things, and I’m just like, ‘Why don’t we just do that?’
Crowdfunding a return of Xena? That one will definitely fall in the “shut up and take my money” category for a lot of people. There’s more to it than simply throwing together a Kickstarter page however, as Lawless doesn’t have the rights to Xena so there would need to be a substantial amount of legal wrangling before anything could truly move forward.
Still there’s a bit of precedent for Xena fans to find solace in. Lucy Lawless is appearing in the upcoming Ash vs. The Evil Dead series, which is another franchise where fans rabidly wanted to see more. For decades it looked like such a thing would never happen. Now, somehow, here we are with new Evil Dead on the horizon. Add to that the fact that Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi was involved in the production of Xena at least Lawless knows she can get a meeting with somebody to start the process of securing the rights. Also, while on set she can ask Bruce Campbell if he’ll reprise his role as Autolycus, the King of Thieves, because that would be awesome.
What’s that you say? Xena died in the finale. Hardly a problem according to Lawless. It was the era of greek gods, and magic after all. Lawless doesn’t see much problem in having them “screw her head back on” and sending her off to save the world. It’s not like she’d be the first character in the series brought back to life. While a great action series Xena was also never afraid to get goofy so whatever ridiculous mechanism they come up with to bring Xena back to life would fit in the series just fine.
Would you be excited to see the return of Xena: Warrior Princess? While you can’t put your credit card down just yet to help make it happen, that day may come very soon. If it worked for Veronica Mars, surely it can work for the Warrior Princess.
The Full COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO Movie Release Schedule
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Updated July 11, 2015: With news that 2020’s Green Lantern has expanded to become Green Lantern Corps, we’ve updated the list. No word yet on the reported (but unconfirmed) solo Batman movie with Ben Affleck.
2015:
July 17: Ant-Man
August 7: Fantastic Four (Fox)
2016:
February 12: Deadpool (Fox)
March 25: Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
May 6: Captain America: Civil War
May 27: X-Men: Apocalypse (Fox)
August 5: Suicide Squad
October 7: Gambit (Fox)
November 4: Doctor Strange
2017:
March 3: Untitled Wolverine sequel (Fox)
May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
June 2: Fantastic Four 2 (Fox)
June 23: Wonder Woman
July 28: Marvel Studios co-produced Spider-Man film (Sony)
November 3: Thor: Ragnarok
November 17: Justice League, Part 1
Unscheduled: Bloodshot (Valiant/Sony)
2018:
March 23: The Flash
May 4: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1
July 6: Black Panther
July 13: Untitled Fox Mystery Marvel film
July 20: Spider-Man Animated Feature (Sony)
July 27: Aquaman
November 2: Captain Marvel
2019:
April 5: Shazam
May 3: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2
June 14: Justice League, Part 2
July 12: Inhumans
2020:
April 3: Cyborg
June 19: Green Lantern Corps