Thor Film Review

There is a growing trend in comic book film adaptations that has seen the villains overshadowing their heroic counterparts. The recent onslaught of Marvel and DC films has seen many of histories greatest superhero creations make the jump to film. DC’s Batman was successfully rebooted with Christian Bale, however Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker far outshone Bale’s broody Dark Knight. Marvel has seen both Spider-Man and the X-Men achieve great heights with their acclaimed trilogies and as far as I am concerned I would rather see a Magneto: Origins film than the overexposed and overrated Wolverine.

The most recent in this line of medium jumping is Kenneth Brannagh’s Thor, which again falls into the trap of having a villain that is far more charismatic than our hero. I will not deny the admirable attempt at playing a Norse god made by aussie Chris Hemsworth. It was always going to be a hard part to pull off and I am comfortable enough in my own skin to admit that his god-worthy body impressed me. However, through all of Hemsworth’s bellowing and glass smashing I felt myself paying more attention to the trials of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Beyond his superfluous romance with an irrelevant Natalie Portman Thor’s tale seemed disappointingly single-layered. His is the typical hero journey. Enemies are defeated, lessons are learnt and the world is saved, but I feel that little changed in his character that was of any worth. Loki on the other hand, in keeping with his comic book origins, had a lot more on his plate uncovering terrible secrets that take the development of his character in a much more world changing directions.

This does not make Thor a bad movie by any means. Nor does this trend reflect poorly on the other films that it has cursed. It just means that a new focus is needed in the production of these films. If this trend continues then why can’t we see a Masters of Evil film next year, rather that an Avengers one? Why not have a Sinestro Corps epic rather than a Green Lantern one? Superheroes are nothing without a foe to fight, so why not give them the spotlight that they deserve for once with a film of their own.

A Return To Thunderbolts!

Last month I started reading Thunderbolts again, taking the place of Batman on my order (see last post). So far I love being back in the Thunderbolts world. The team dynamics and psychology of the ‘ex-cons’ makes for a fantastic read and is true to the titles original intention, former villains trying to turn over a new leaf and becoming heroes. I soon found myself confused however by the changing cast and the motives of the various characters and I think my exploration into the titles back issues and the convoluted order of my reading are to blame.

The first issue I ever read was # 3 given to me by a friend many, many years ago. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I didn’t read comic books back then and I quickly forgot about it. However, I was re-introduced to the title last year when I added the entire list of Siege titles to my order. None of the characters were familiar, but the likes of Ghost made it a very enjoyable read. Again I forgot about it until I saw that it was being given a new direction in the shape of Luke Cage’s ‘reformed’ prisoners. Juggernaut, Man-Thing, Songbird, Mach IV, how could I pass that up? It seemed a sign to me, so I picked the title up again and I was not disappointed. I know look forward with eager anticipation for the week when Thunderbolts comes in.

Not content with my one issue a month I raided my local comic store, Classic Comics, and dove into the Thunderbolts history. And here is where my confusion began. It seemed that some faces kept re-occurring. Songbird, Mach IV and Atlas popped up on more than one occasion. Theirs were characters that maintained a fairly consistent allegiance and motive. But it was in the shifting nature of the other characters that I found myself confused. I did not read the back issues in any order or reason. I bought whole story arcs at a time jumping forward and back in the continuity. One issue, Swordsman is acting on behalf of the Thunderbolts and in the next he is attempting to bring them down. Is Baron Zemo being good here or is he reverting back to his evil ways? Was he ever good to begin with? I don’t know. So far it hasn’t affected my reading of the current continuity but I fear it may do so in the future. Perhaps a more systematic method of reading is in order, starting right back were it began, at #3.

Why I Dropped Batman

About six months ago I added Batman to my monthly order at my local comic book store. I had found Tony Daniel’s blog during one of my browsing sessions and fell in love with his depiction of the Dark Knight. I had been meaning to delve into the world of Batman comics for a while. The recent films had renewed my love of the Bat and I was interested in his comic book presence. So Batman earned a place in my exclusively Marvel lineup.

Unfortunately, Batman’s time in my list was short lived. At first I loved Daniel’s work, even to the extent of buying a few back issues, but it soon became apparent that beyond his artwork there was nothing there for me to keep him around. Don’t get me wrong. The action, pacing and all that jazz were great. But the dozen or so issues that I read gave me an insight into the true nature of my comic book interest. I was there for the superpowers.

I do not doubt the effectiveness of Batman in his defense of Gotham City. He is a more than capable defender against the many evil characters that Gotham’s streets present. But after careful reading I realized that what the Batman comics were missing most of all were the world-threatening powers and politics that draw me to the likes of the X-Men, Hellboy and the Avengers.

The X-Men defend humanity against a myriad of powerful enemies wielding god-like power while at the same time defending their own against the prejudices of those that they seek to defend. Hellboy ensures that the power struggles and magical threats of the paranormal world do not spill over into the real world. And don’t even get me started on the number of world-threatening enemies that they defeat on a daily basis. And what qualifies all of these characters to protect us from these threats are their own powers and abilities that they use in such spectacular and amazing ways that we are stunned in awe of their…… awesomeness.

Batman is a detective. A man. A caped and masked man, but a man nonetheless. Sure he faces some terrible foes. Killer Croc is still one of favorite characters of all time. But I shudder to think what would become of poor Batman if he were faced with the likes of Ultron, Magneto, or if he got on Hulk’s bad side. I am pretty sure he would be demolished in an instant. I’m sorry if I offend any fans, but Batman, as a comic book, holds no interest for me. And that is why I removed batman from my list and replaced it with Thunderbolts.

The Games!

So about a week ago I put an Xbox 360 on Layby until Christmas. Since my eventual possession of an Xbox is now confirmed I quickly set about deciding what games I would buy to get me going when the day came. After a lot of browsing I came up with four titles that I decided i would like to give a go.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I am first and foremost a fantasy/RPG player. I never feel more at home in a game than when I have a word in my hand or magical energy coursing through my veins. I was first introduced to Oblivion’s awesomeness about two years ago when my girlfriend bought me the PC version for Christmas. I was delighted. Not only in the game but also in that Sarah had overcome her dislike of video games to get me something that she knew I would like (that’s love right there). To my dismay however I would quickly discover out that my computer lacked the capacity to play it and so a sad trip was made to the games store to return it. But with my new Xbox on the horizon I can finally get into the game.

Gears of War

When looking at the Xbox’s flagship titles. The ones that are exclusive to its brand Gears of War was right up there on the top. Magazines and websites are being flooded with news and previews of the highly anticipated Gears of War 3 and it looks amazing. As strong as my love of fantasy is, my love of giant beasties is possibly greater. The Locust Horde that features in GOW will be a nice step away from the hacking and slashing of an RPG. And I do enjoy a good third-person shooter every now and again.

Mass Effect

Another flagship title for the Xbox, Mass Effect appeals for its blending of Sci-Fi elements and RPG gameplay. It’s something that I have never played before and I am eager to launch into a good space opera. Star Wars and Stargate are big favourites of mine and it looks like Mass Effect can deliver in providing me with a good juicy tale.

Fable

Finally, we come to the big one. I loved the look of Fable ever since the first title was released way back in 2004. It will be great to finally get my hands on such a unique and engaging game. I hope it lives up the hype and I’m pretty sure it will. I’m hoping that by the time I am finished with number two Fable 3 will have come down to a sensible price range. Never have I payed more than $50 dollars for a game and I never intend to.

So those are the big draw cards on my list. Thankfully EB Games has recently run a deal that involved Mass Effect, Gears of War and The elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion allowing me to pick up all three titles for just $40 dollars. Thanks EB. So I have my games but not the console to play them on. I shall have to be content with online reviews and reading the instruction booklets until I can finally dive into them.

It is decided!

Over the past few months there has been a grudge match being waged in my head. The limited range of games that I have on my DS and the sad state of my computer’s graphics means that I have not really had my gaming hunger sated in the last two years since my moving out of home. I would spend my days browsing EB Games for titles that would have no chance of running on my poor little laptop and looking enviably over at the Xbox and Playstation shelves. Over there is where I wanted to be, in the big leagues. I wanted a controller in my hands and buttons to mash. I couldn’t stand the pressure anymore and I decided that something had to be done.
But what to buy? This was the beginning of long and arduous debate that would rage in my mind for the following months. Playstation 3 or Xbox 360? That was the question. In the end it came down to simple pros and cons.

On one hand we had the Xbox 360, whose pros included a wide range of games (larger, I think than that afforded by the PS3) and a distinctly lower price tag (the Arcade model of console sells for less than $200). On the other we had the PS3 which boasted a blu-ray player (a large bonus for me as a Cinema Studies major and lover of all things filmic) and a whopping $450 price tag. Not to mention that prior to my move I was the proud owner of a PS2 and had spent many a day (or weekend) fighting my way through the first two God of War titles and before that the original Playstation that introduced me to the joy of Crash Bandicoot.

As I have no intention of playing online, downloading online content or performing any other online action that a console may allow the size of the hard drive was of little to no importance to me. So long as I had room enough to save my games then I would be a happy man. I figured that having a Blu-ray player would just end up costing more money for me in the long run and my TV would hardly do its quality justice anyway the bonus of the blu-ray was lost to the PS3.

So there were my choices: an overpriced PS3 that would cost me no less than $400 or an Xbox 360 Arcade at modest price of $180 (the cheapest around, Thanks Big W). From then on it was a no brainer for me. Yes, I would have to give up God of War, but I would be introduced to so many new and wondrous worlds (Fable and Mass Effect to name a few).

Unfortunately this all came to a point right before Christmas, the holiday that would deny me my gratification for another three weeks. Three agonizing weeks to wait, til I can lay my hands on my new Xbox 360 Arcade, but until then there will be another question boiling over in my mind: what games to buy first?

What's A Nerd To Do?

Compared to what I have seen, my standing order at my local comic store is relatively small. Most weeks I don’t get more than two or three titles. This is mainly due to financial constraints and not by choice, as I am sure that if I was capable I would have a healthy stack of comics waiting for me each week. My girlfriend, Sarah, believes that two or three comics a week is more than enough to keep a young man going, but my recent ventures into DC have made it more and more difficult to keep the size of my order at a reasonable level.

A few months ago there were only a few titles that were a must have in my mind. At the top of my list were Uncanny X-Men (a no brainer) and X-Men Legacy, cause there just isn’t enough room in one title to contain the ever growing number of mutants in the Marvel Universe. From there, my order was filled with the many tie-ins and whatever event took my fancy at the time. Not long ago there was Siege, then Second Coming and now Chaos War.

My reactions are mixed whenever I see the cover of a new ongoing title in Previews. At first there is excitement, “Uncanny X-Force?!! With Fantomex?!! Sweet!” But then reality hits you in the face and you realise that you have to pay for that new title, “Damn. Can’t I just squeeze it in? It’s only one title after all.” But it’s not just one title. It’s another comic every month for the foreseeable future. And how often will Marvel give us just the one new title. It seems that recently that Marvel has become the Hydra of the comic book world. When one title ends three more grow forth to take its place.

And then there are the one-shots. Those damned one-shots, that promise us oh so much, but oh so often leave us feeling disappointed. Not just in the comic, but in ourselves as well, for being duped into indulging in a seemingly harmless little $3.99 tie-in. A comic book cover promises us many things. Mystery, thrilling artwork and epic battles between characters that we soon find out don’t even appear beyond the tempting gloss of that cover.

So what are we to do?

Tomorrow I will walk into my local haunt. As Giuseppe fumbles around in a drawer for my order I will see three more titles teasing me from a shelf, taunting me, daring me to pick them up, flick through its pages and forego my afternoon slurpee in place of its papery goodness. And five out of ten times it will win and I will put it in the pile with the others, nestled in between my Carnage #1 and X-Men #4, and grin up at me knowing that it had gotten the better of me.

This is our curse. And our blessing. For every now and then you get an absolute gem, a comic that when you have finished reading it makes you think, “Gee, I’m glad I picked that one up.” And you read it again, and again.

Adventures in the DC Universe!

A couple of months ago I decided to broaden my horizons and wander into the scarily expansive world of DC comics. I knew that it would be no small feat to jump on at this point, what with the end of the Blackest Night event and the beginning of Brightest Day. So I did some background reading. Ok, I did a lot of background reading.

With some help over at DC Comics Database I thought I was set. I knew the characters (what I thought were the main ones, anyway). I knew where they came from. I knew their powers. Armed with this knowledge I launched myself into the DC Universe. I thought I would start off with something simple. Ease my way into it, you know? So I raided the local library and found a copy of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Wow! If I thought I knew nothing about DC before, I knew even less after reading the first few pages of COIE. But I soldiered on, regardless. When I encountered someone I didn’t know, I looked them up. This happened every few pages. Slowly I waded through to the end and emerged victorious. I had conquered one of DC’s biggest events and was wiser for it. Not only did i understand what happened but I wanted more, much more.

So I moved forward. A little research uncovered my next target, Infinite Crisis. This time I laid my hard earned dollars on the line and went right out and bought a copy. And I’m thankful that I did. After reading Infinite Crisis I was sold. Pandora’s Box was opened and I haven’t looked back since. I fell in love with Martian Manhunter and his bulbous head. His powers and history struck a chord in me that I have not felt since I was introduced to Nightcrawler.

Not only that but I understood completely what was going on. Admittedly I did need to freshen up on a few things, Blue Beetle and Spectre in particular, but the story flowed so smoothly from the pages that I swept through it in just a few days (I’m a slow reader). Since then I have read Infinite Crisis again and again and I see many more reads in the future.

So, where too from there? The answer was simple in my mind – Final Crisis. Filled with confidence from my enjoyment of Infinite Crisis (as well as a little influence from its shiny cover) I bought Final Crisis and raced home. As I read through my new purchase a single phrase kept popping into my head: What the hell?

What the hell was going on here? Compared to Final Crisis, COIE read like an ABC of the DC world. A is for Anti-Monitor. B is for Batman. Every page looked to me like a page of Ulysses, written in Latin, with the words smudged across the paper by a baby’s jam-covered fingers. Questions filled my brain at every turn as I found myself taking notes in an attempt to make sense of what I was seeing and that only seemed to make things worse.

So is Darkseid dead or what?

What was that place Superman went to?

Are there ‘Old Gods”?

Anti-Life Equation?

And what’s more my first love of the DC Universe, Martian Manhunter, is slaughtered in his first scene. I felt like someone had placed a nice bug juicy watermelon in front of me, then picked it up and smashed me over the head with it.

What had I gotten myself into? When I finally finished I slipped it back into its bag, sealed it off (tightly) and put it away. I thought I was getting somewhere. I thought I was making progress. Maybe I got ahead of myself and the big head that resulted in my somewhat easy comprehension of Infinite Crisis simply exploded under the pressure of Darseid’s influence. Or maybe I just didn’t ‘ease myself into it’ as much as I intended to. Either way I had learned my lesson that the knowledge of the DC Universe that I craved needed to be earned not taken. It would take much more than a bit of reading to open up those doors. But I am determined. Tomorrow I will try again with Batman. The day after, I’ll give Superman a go. And hopefully after a while I will finally understand and I will allow myself to dig my copy out and give Final Crisis another go.