Jason Inman and Jay Washington drop in to for J-Town, the 3 man pop culture news team, united for the first time ever! On this episode we discuss the newly announced all-female Star Wars series for Disney+, JJ Abrams’ JLA Dark series, if the MCU has “filler” movies and when we’ll start seeing the Fantastic Four and why DragonCon hasn’t canceled their Labor Day convention yet! We also take your questions and comments and Jason and Heidi give their opinions on Star Trek: Picard and whether it’s a great fit for Star Trek fans! We’re surviving the Pandemic TOGETHER on a brand new Geekscape!

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Quarantine continues in the face of the Corona Virus Pandemic… but that’s not enough to stop Ian Kerner! In this episode, Ian checks in to talk about the state of the comics industry, if COVID 19 will be the end of local comic book shops as we know them and if Marvel and DC Comics can weather the storm. We also discuss the sliding Marvel slate and what this means for blockbuster films getting greenlit in the future! When will Hollywood get back to normal… if ever? Along the way, we espouse the wonders of ‘Onward’, let you know if ‘Bloodshot’ is worth a shot and I go to bat for Ben Affleck in ‘The Way Back’! And the question is raised after Ian gives us some concerning information… was Ian infected with the Corona Virus?

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It’s that wonderful time of the week again, new comic book day! Choosing what to read can be daunting (and expensive!). Don’t worry though, Geekscape has you covered. Each week we give our best bet for a comic book that you’re sure to enjoy. Let’s get into it!

It’s a quiet week on my pull list, nothing I’m stoked for and definitely no best bets, so this article is going to be brief.

Batman Annual #1 is out, most of the Batman books are killing it right now so this may be an annual worth reading if you don’t mind spending a little more than your average issue.

It feels like the current Suicide Squad arc has been going on forever, and I guess that’s because it sort of has. Part seven of The Black Vault is out. Suicide Squad is going to get hot once DC’s first Rebirth event, Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, begins but you can probably sit the remainder of this arc out.

I’ve been praising Black Widow forever. It’ll be one of my books of the year. The latest issue is out this week. Check out the series if you haven’t yet, this is a perfect week too.

I should mention that IvX (Inhumans vs. X-Men) sort of kicks off this week with IvX #0. I fell off the X-Men books a few months ago and $4 is steep for an issue 0 so I’ll probably sit this one out… Hah. Whom I kidding. I’ll probably dip my toes in the water once the series actually kicks off.

Welcome back to Weekly Reads! Where we take a moment on New Comic Book Day to reflect upon last week’s titles!

Before jumping in, an update: I’m starting a small, new, hopefully weekly post titled Best Bets (you can find the first post here). Simply put, it’ll be a recommendation of the best book (or books, depending on how many high-quality titles are being released) to purchase that week. That’ll be the core, then I imagine we’ll have some other types of recommendations come out of it too. It should be a lot of fun! Weekly Reads is probably going to see some formatting changes as well, but since I’m not sure what they are yet, I’ll save that for another day.

So they say that the first step of breaking an addiction is admitting you have a problem? Well, I have a problem. I’m getting way too wrapped up in the DC Universe and it’s causing me to get behind on a lot of (often higher quality) titles that I want to be reading. If anyone has advice on trimming back your pull list, that’d be greatly appreciated 😀! Until then, let’s talk about last week in comics… or at least in the DC Universe…

👎 – Skip, read at your own risk
👌 – Okay, not great, not bad, you might find something to like here
💪 – Great, highly recommended

DC

If you’ve been following along for awhile now, you’re probably starting to see a trend in my DC section. Namely, I praise the same titles every other week. Which makes sense because most of their titles are being released biweekly, so instead of just gushing over Green Arrow and Batman, how about I gave you a few second breakdown on each book this week?

Aquaman #5 – 💪

This issue feels a lot like Action Comics, it’s pretty much non-stop action from start to finish, and a nice little surprise waiting for you at the end. “The Drowning” story arc will conclude next issue (two weeks from now) and I’m not going to have a problem recommending the trade when it’s released, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the title so far.

Batgirl & the Birds of Prey #1 – 💁

I didn’t read it! Maybe there is hope for me after all.

Batman #5 – 💪

Issue 5 puts a nice, little bow on the “I Am Gotham” arc. It answers a lot of questions and it’s a lot of fun to see some other characters coming to aid Batman in his battle against the god-like Gotham (or Gotham Man, or whatever you like to call him). I have no problem recommending this run to friends, it looks like Batman is in good hands with King.

Green Arrow #5 – 💪

Green Arrow wraps up it’s ongoing arch this week as well. This run felt very much like Miller’s Born Again Daredevil run (high praise). If you would have asked me when Rebirth happened what my favourite titles would be, Green Arrow wouldn’t even have been a consideration, so I’m glad I gave it a chance. Definitely a favourite of the Rebirth books.

Green Lanterns #5 – 👌

This series has grown more and more on me with each issue and this week is no different. The “Red Planet” arc is in full swing and Jessica is going to have to step-up to the plate in a big way next issue to save Earth from becoming the next home of the Red lanterns!

Harley Quinn #2 – 👌

This series is far from must-read, I was suckered into it because I was surprised by the first issue. Basically, this is DC’s Deadpool, so if that’ your thing, you’ll probably like this book… or if you just like Harley Quinn, that might help too.

Justice League #3 – 👎

DC’s flagship title is probably one of it’s weakest right now. The transitions between issues are jarring and while there are big action pieces, nothing feels like it will carry any weight in the universe. I’m sure this title will hit it’s stride eventually, it just hasn’t happened yet.

Nightwing #3 – 👌

Batgirl joins Nightwing and Raptor this issue. This arc is starting to get really interesting. I’m loving
Javier Fernandez’s art.

Suicide Squad #1 – 👎

This might be the first time I didn’t like an #1 as much as the Rebirth issue that come before it. Perhaps a new Jim Lee book makes it worth the price but right now there just isn’t enough going on for me to recommend it… hopefully it picks up the pace in the coming issues.

Supergirl – Rebirth #1 – 👎

Book is technically enjoyable, just not worth buying.

Superman #5 – 💪

Action Comics isn’t the only solid super hero book on the market, Superman is almost as hot! We have Superman, Lois, their son, and Eradicator all up on the moon. Oh, and as the cover hints, the Hellbat suite! This issue was a blast.

Marvel

Black Widow #6 – 💪

Every issue Chris Samnee and Mark Waid deliver a comic book experience like no other. This book is unreal.

Power Man and Iron Fist #7 – 👌

The days of Power Man and Iron Fist being must-read are now behind us, but this book is still enjoyable and only loosely connected to Civil War II (that might all change next issue). The humour still exists but isn’t as commonplace as it was the first few issues. Go pick up the first five issues and wait and see how this story pans out.

Image

I dropped the ball…

Welcome to Weekly Reads! It’s your little dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my comic book reading!

A ton of ongoing reads, plus a couple of new ones. Let’s get into it!

Ongoing Reads

It feels like just last week we were talking about Amazing Spider-Man, oh wait, we were! This week #12 was released and Mary Jane is back and she’s working for Tony Stark. Iron Man and Spider-Man team up to battle Ghost. It was actually a lot of fun but the Spider-Man issue to read this week was hidden away in the Free Comic Book Day issue of Captain America! Google it, I won’t spoil it for you.

Are you reading Black Widow yet? You should be. Issue #3 came out this week and it continues to be one of my favourite ongoing comics. Waid and Samnee embrace and take advantage of the art form in a way few other creative teams can. Every issue of this book brings something new to the table and it’s always executed in masterful fashion.

I shouldn’t talk about X-Men. One week I love it, the next it bores me. Uncanny X-Men #7 is another meh offering in the Apocalypse Wars story arch. Like I said last week, this is a story you’ll want to wait for in trade.

New Reads

The Punisher (2016-) 001-000

The Punisher #1 (Volume 10 in case you were wondering). This issue feels like an extension of Marvel’s Daredevil. Punisher’s appearance is similar as is the situation he finds himself in. Not much to say about this book. The story is a typical, drug-dealing bad guys, even badder leaders, and the DEA… and lots and lots of violence. It’s nice to see Steve Dillon drawing the character again 😊

Renato Jones - The One Percent 001-000-047

I tried but I couldn’t get into Renato Jones – The One Percent #1. I thought this book was going to be a fun read but its bleak outlook on the world makes it hard to enjoy. If you like to hate on rich people there might be something for you here. I feel like I missed something because this is the kind of book I’d normally like but nothing about it sucked me in. It was just too ugly of a universe. Perhaps I’ll revisit it in trade if people say good things about the next few issues.

Next Time

• Black Panther #2 – I thought this came out last week but I was wrong
• All New X-Men #9 – After not enjoying X-Men this week, I should like it again next week
• THE FIX #2! 😁

Kingdom Come 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition comes out this week. If you haven’t read it, now’s your chance!

Welcome to Weekly Reads! It’s your little, weekly dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my comic book reading!

Two big #1’s I want to discuss from last week, but first, an update on some ongoing series. Spider-Man #3 is a slow read. Miles gets grounded and not a whole lot goes on. Black Widow #2 doesn’t have the breakneck pace of the previous issue but it’s still a top-notch book, filled with bad ass moments.

Black Panther (2016-) 001-000

Black Panther #1

Black Panther is not your typical superhero book. There’s a lot to wrap your head around in this book. Outside of the book’s deeper cultural themes, there is a lot to pick up on if you aren’t familiar with the character. This is going to be a popular book and probably talked about it a lot. If you are interested in the character because of Captain America: Civil War, you might want to wait for the book in trade or prepare to do some extra reading.

The Fix 001-000

The Fix #1

This is hands down last week’s must-read book. The creative team behind The Superior Foes of Spider-Man joins forces again in this crooked cop comedy. This book is for a mature audience but damn is it hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading it. The book runs a few pages longer than most books and has a bit more dialogue but I didn’t mind in the slightest because it’s so funny. Spencer creates some unreal situational comedy moments and then turns on a dime to deliver us some sadistic characters. This series is going to have some dark, dark moments. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride, get on board now!

What are you reading? Comment or tweet!

Welcome to Weekend Reads! It’s your little, weekly dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my weekend reading!

This week I was reminded of why I love comic books… and declare Weekend Read’s first MUST-READ issue!

The reads:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 001-000
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 by Kyle Higgins, Steve Orlando, Hendry Prasetya, and Corin Howell

Spider-Man_Vol_2_2
Spider-Man #2 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli

Black Widow (2016-) 001-000
Black Widow #1 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee

As a kid, I loved Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Watching, playing with my toy zords, putting my hair in a ponytail, so I looked like Tommy (the Green Ranger)… I did it all. Once it turned into Power Ranger in Space or whatever it was, I lost interest. I casually revisited Mighty Morphin in my teens but for the most part, it is something that just lives in my childhood. Well, until now.

The BOOM! Studios published Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is everything I could want a Power Rangers comic book to be. It picks up just after the green ranger frees himself from Rita’s possession (one of the show’s greatest storylines, in my opinion at least). Tommy is struggling to fit in with the rest of the Rangers, and they are fighting to 100% trust him. Issue #1 is fun and feels like Power Rangers. Seeing them morphing, summoning their zords, and all those Power Ranger things is just a lot of fun. Is this book anything special if you aren’t a Power Ranger fan? Probably not, but if you grew up with the series you should check this book out. I hope it doesn’t get too wrapped up in character drama and keeps on the fun, bad guy fighting, don’t have to think too much side of things.

In the first edition of Weekend Reads, I discussed my sadness with the state of Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe. It’s amazing what difference one issue can make because I’ve completely changed my tune on Miles Morales. I love where Bendis is taking the Spider-Man series!

The highlight of this issue has to be Bendis’ dialogue. The interactions between Peter and Miles made me, at times, laugh out loud. After two issues, there is plenty I’m looking forward to:
* Miles struggling to find a balance between his life as Miles and his life as Spider-Man.
* Bendis alludes to the coming of super villains (both old and new).
* Miles’ skin colour is coming into the equation as well in an interesting and unique way.

If you are reading Amazing Spider-Man and longing for the Peter Parker of times past, Spider-Man is for you.

Alright, let’s get to the greatest read of the weekend.

Black Widow #1 is unlike any comic I’ve ever read. It is essentially one long, continuous action sequence and it is fricken INSANE! Black Widow has stolen something from SHIELD and SHIELD is doing anything they can to get it back. We have battles in the sky, in vehicles, hand to hand combat, there’s a little bit of everything. This issue unfolds in epic fashion as Black Widow gracefully deals with all the personnel SHIELD throws at her. It feels almost poetic in the way the panels and pages flow into each other. I had no idea Black Widow could be this cool. My gut says that the creative team of Waid and Samnee are going to make Black Widow one of the best books of 2016. I haven’t done this on weekly reads before, but I’m declaring Black Widow #1 a MUST-READ. It’s fresh, fun, and unleashing the potential of a character that I’ve never thought much about.

That’s it for this week. Check out Black Widow #1, get into Spider-Man, and if you’ve ever enjoyed Power Rangers you owe it to yourself to check that out too. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these books!

Did You Know Gaming? is one of my favorite lunch break time-killers at work. Their 5-10 minute videos have unveiled the making and secrets of nearly a hundred prolific games, franchises, and consoles and it’s my favorite way to occupy my attention while I eat a pastrami. They’ve recently introduced a new series, “Unseen64” which delves into the doomed productions of cancelled video games. Their newest video reveals an amazing what-could-have been: Marvel’s The Avengers, which would have been a first-person action game with a story written by veteran comic scribe Brian Michael Bendis.

I’m really stunned by how well the FP aspects would have worked without the “S” part. None of the Avengers (except maybe Iron Man) would have shooting mechanics, but based on the footage from early builds it actually looks like it would have been a ton of fun. Each of the playable Avengers — Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man primarily, with Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel being unlockable — essentially fulfill a class not unlike *Team Fortress 2*, with everyone relying on each other’s strengths to make up for their own shortcomings. That’s teamwork! Which should be at the heart of most comic book games (Batman excluded).

Also notable is how the game isn’t based on the film, but The Avengers property with designs inspired by Joss Whedon’s movie and an original story riffing on Bendis’ Secret Invasion storyline. The tie-in video game quietly died a few years ago and none of us really noticed.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about cancelled video games is how invincible they should have been. You’d think that a video game tied to one of the most lucrative films in history would have been cancellation-proof, but THQ’s financial woes were ultimately what killed the project. A more recent example is P.T., aka Silent Hills which its ingredients should have allowed it to survive: genre auteur Guillermo del Toro, Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima, and Norman Reedus, the breakout star of the world’s most popular cable series The Walking Dead. How on Earth do these things just fall through the cracks?

There’s a game I like to play when I watch movies, called “What Broke My Suspension of Disbelief?” Sometimes it’s something big, like a Jaeger bashing a Kaiju with an entire ship, and sometimes it’s small, like the fly on that dude’s forehead in Troll 2. And don’t even get me started on the cannibalism in Fried Green Tomatoes (because I’ll be discussing that in a future article). Whatever causes it, it’s always entertaining to look back on a movie, be it good or utter garbage, and contemplate that one scene where the people writing the script just asked too much of you, their devoted audience.

With the current wave of superhero movies being made in the past decade or so, few things are as ridiculous as forcing two complete strangers to fall in love as they are being shot at by lasers and buildings are falling down around them. As the title implies, this article is FULL OF SPOILERS, so don’t read it unless you’ve seen pretty much all of the MCU films as well as most of the other recent superhero movies. Or you don’t care about having romantic subplots discussed.

My wife and I finally got around to seeing Ant-Man at the theater this past weekend, and something has been bugging me (heh) ever since: that kiss. I’m obviously no Puritan when it comes to my movie tastes; I watch stuff like Wolfcop and Dr. Giggles for Horror Movie Night on a weekly basis, and I did just watch a bunch of guys in superhero costumes punch each other silly.

So why does this 20-second portion of Ant-Man stick out so much to me? As the title here states, it’s completely unnecessary to the film, and a bit unrealistic to have occurring after a week of Hope Pym beating the tar out of Scott Lang in the basement and staring daggers at him and Hank. It’s unrealistic in a movie about a guy who invents a shrinking suit and has the ability to control ants – that’s saying something. Part of me realizes that their kiss was shoehorned in for the comedic relief with grumpy Dad (and to set things in motion for Ant-Man 2), but the rest of me is having trouble letting go and enjoying the rest of the movie. If they had just given a subtle hint that they were going to hook up in the next movie, I would be here writing about how amazing, witty and just plain FUN the script is. But nope, they had to turn The Wasp into a Battle Babe.

“What’s a Battle Babe,” you say? I thought you’d never ask! Battle Babes are strong female characters who are introduced as valuable allies in the beginning of a movie, only to be relegated to love interests or damsels in distress by the third act. The most damning part of the phenomenon is that I can’t think of any film where a male character goes through the same devolution (probably because that would be emasculating, and the majority of people consuming superhero and action movies are male). Concrete examples will paint the picture best, I think.

LillyBar640

Hope Pym (Evangeline Lilly) in Ant-Man; as mentioned above, teaches Scott Lang to fight and control ants, helps coordinate the main heist and then pisses it all away by inexplicably falling for Scott Lang (who killed her old boyfriend Darren Cross just hours before). It’s like watching the Karate Kid lip-locking Mr. Miyagi for no reason after winning the All-Valley Karate Tournament.

"Marvel's Thor: The Dark World"..Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) ..Ph: Jay Maidment..© 2013 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2013 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in Thor; she starts the movie as a freaking ASTROPHYSICIST and is not once seen using that massive intellect in either the first or second film to do anything but get into situations that require her godly boyfriend. Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is an even worse case/better example, as she spends Thor and Thor II kicking ass from one end of the Bifrost to the other and is written as a Thor clinger. Luckily, she pops up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. free of romantic BS.

RASPUTIN

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was hinted that she and Cap had a bit of mutual attraction in The Winter Soldier, but luckily nothing came of it (thereby saving my favorite MCU movie from certain disaster). But as soon as the Avengers start partying in AoU, sparks fly between Natasha and Bruce Banner. It’s not even subtle, and sets up an interesting dramatic point about Natasha’s experiences as a child assassin, but forcing the relationship just to get there is an low point in an otherwise light summer blockbuster. It also dismantles most of the badassness Black Widow has cultivated in her preceding films. Once a lethal assassin, now just a lady without a baby…

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Sgt. Rita Rose Vrataski (Emily Blunt) in Edge of Tomorrow. Sargeant. SARGEANT. That right there denotes that she’s pretty tough and can kill Mimics with the best of them. She realizes Cage (Tom Cruise) is looping after each death, and trains him accordingly, only for him to fall in love with her and keep trying to get her to safety each loop. Rita does go down fighting, but still qualifies for the title since she’s sexualized almost from the get-go and you know from the first minute Cage meets her, she’s going to be the love interest.

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Evey (Natalie Portman, again!) in V for Vendetta. V spends half of the movie using her to help him kill his enemies, and then confesses his love for her before dying. I can’t believe how badly the Wachowskis screwed up Alan Moore’s original storyline by adding that. She was supposed to have been imprisoned and tortured by V to shape her into his successor, instead we got Lolita with Guy Fawkes masks.

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Elektra (Jennifer Garner) in Daredevil and Elektra. While I realize that Elektra and Daredevil were an on-again-off-again couple in the comics, the films really played her up like a girl with a crush, particularly in the self-titled sequel. You’re supposedly the great martial arts “treasure” and more or less throw it all away at the end of Elektra to smooch the father of the girl you saved. Because every warrior woman is just wasting time until she can put down the katanas and start a family.

Even the pictures I found from each film portray these women as sexy and/or weak. It’s sort of creepy.

Now, those are some of the worst offenders in recent memory, but there ARE ways to do it without making me roll my eyes. Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in Captain America and especially Agent Carter kicks so much ass and while she does have feelings for Cap, it never gets in the way of her busting skulls. She finds herself in peril but never waits for some dude to save the day; she’s a proactive heroine. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in Guardians of the Galaxy is ALMOST a Battle Slut, and will likely become one in the sequel, but I think James Gunn did a great job poking fun at the trope a bit and didn’t leave her waiting to be rescued by Peter Quill.

Maybe my problem with Battle Babes and all the unnecessary romance in comic book movies is that, for me, unconsummated affection works better than forcing strangers to fall in love while evading death. That comic book movies seem to utilize Battle Babes most of the time, doesn’t make me love the genre any less, but their prevalence in a film is an easy barometer for me to tell how good the adaption is.

So, what do you think? Am I crazy? Are Battle Babes anachronistic? Leave a comment!

Post script: I just realized that Batman does kind of get the Battle Babe treatment (thanks to Talia’s betrayal) in The Dark Knight Rises. So there’s one.

Briefly: We all received a fantastic treat late last week when the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked online, DAYS before it’s scheduled launch on last night’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel blamed it on Hydra, which was a hilarious and lighthearted way of looking at the leak. Not wanting to leave any of us S.H.I.E.L.D. fans hanging, the studio attached a special look at the film on last night’s episode. If you we’re lucky enough to be in Hall H at SDCC this past Summer, than it’s nothing new for you, but it’s exciting to see the scene online and official.

It’s also fantastic to see the look on Thor’s face when Cap almost lifts the hammer, and now we can see it over and over and over again. The rest of the video is pretty much the trailer we’ve already seen, but I’m not going to say no to watching that one again. Take a look at the video below, and let us know if you’re excited!

Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theatres on May 1st, 2015.

LITERALLY NONE OF THESE WORDS MATTER. THESE ARE JUST WORDS. WHAT YOU WANT IS BELOW. But play along, please?

Earlier tonight the the much-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was leaked online. It was supposed to air during next week’s Mavel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But because this is 2014, of course it didn’t! After a pretty amusing, self-deprecating tweet, Marvel has decided “eff it, let’s just do it.” The trailer is now on their official YouTube page, in crystal clear high-definition.

The trailer has all the neat stuff I kept hearing about from San Diego Comic-Con this summer. The Hulkbuster, an Avengers party, Ultron himself. It’s all really neat.

My favorite part, though, is what James Spader’s Ultron (and it’s so unmistakably him) says in the trailer: “You want to protect the world. But you don’t want it to change.” There is an ongoing, neverending debate that I love getting into about the true nature of superheroes. As protectors of the status-quo, what is their role when the world needs changing? Not that I expect Age of Ultron to be political in any shape or form, but the movie (I hope) will continue to change the superhero genre and begin to ask questions we, the dedicated superhero nerds who hold up this art to a higher level than most, might be uncomfortable to answer.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be released in 2015 and it will make so much money.

It’s time! Captain America: The Winter Soldier has arrived so it’s time for Ian Kerner to tell us everything there is to know about both the movie and the comic book origins! Is this the strongest Marvel movie yet? How faithful did they stick to the source material and where might things go from here? And do the events of the film mean you should go back to watching Agents of SHIELD? And can Ian convince me that all of the monologuing in the movie is justified? Just know one thing… THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

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Better late than never right?

EW today released some new info regarding the highly anticipated Phase One box set. The fantastic looking bundle was originally set to release back in September, but was delayed due to a lawsuit over the case design.

We now have a new release date for the 10-disc set (featuring a slightly different looking briefcase), and while it’s still months away, I can’t help but get excited. New pre-orders are set to start later today, while the set will be available on April 2nd (just 133 more days).

The set will also include additional content that would not have been there had it hit shelves on time including never before seen clips, and a Phase Two preview featuring “footage, concept art, and a few new surprises.”

I’m in. How about you?

Source: EW

Recently TheStylish (a fashion and style YouTube channel) has been branching into the geek style universe of cosplay and printed t-shirts. They have more than a few good explorations of what is Geek-Stylish, and recently they worked with hero Cosplayer (and friend of the ‘scape) Kit Quinn on two DIY videos for Avengers movie Black Widow costumes.

We can’t all be the sewing intuitives that it takes to create cosplay greatness out of thin air, so if you feel like being geeky (and sexy) at your local Halloween party and you don’t have a degree from FIT, well this might be the video for you.

If you’re a guy you can watch the video for the articles (except we think that Shane O’Hare might actually try this).

Dress like you’re a Russian assassin with a checkered past… or the world’s biggest Scar-Jo fan by way of this video:

 

And here’s a makeup tutorial to go alone with it:

With shooting set to begin in a few months, Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo have a short list of five actresses to play the major “love interest” role in the highly anticipated sequel. The role has yet to be revealed but it’s safe to assume based on Cap’s history that these actresses are in the running to play Sharon Carter.

The list is comprises of Emilia Clarke (Game Of Thrones), Jessica Brown Findlay (Albatross), Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four), Imogen Poots (Fright Night)
and Alison Brie (Mad Men). There is no mention of Anna Kendrick (End Of Watch) or Felicity Jones (Like Crazy) who had previously been mentioned to be in the running. Kendrick at one point was even said to be the front runner for the role.

Additionally it has also been confirmed that Scarlett Johansson will be reprising her role as Black Widow in the film. Black Widow has been romantically involved with Winter Soldier in the comics but it’s unknown currently if we will see that in the film.

Source: Deadline

 

It’s now official, Avengers 2 WILL assemble once again on May 1st, 2015. This is the date fellow writer Shawn speculated last week! Can he see the future?!

Joss Whedon will write and direct the sequel to the massive success that is The Avengers.

The sequel will be the culmination of Marvel’s ‘Phase Two’ films that begins with Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013. That will be followed by Thor: The Dark World (November 8th, 3013), Captain America: The Winter Solider (April 4th, 2014), Guardians of The Galaxy (August 1st, 2014). Ant-Man, which still have no official start date nor a release date is also speculated to be released in 2014.

It’s a great time to be a Marvel fan! Stay tuned to Geekscape as we’ll bring you the latest updates on all the ‘Phase Two’ slate of movies as well as all your geek-related news. Excelsior!

Have you been wondering just what comes in the ten-disc Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase One: Avengers Assembled Box Set? Well we now have a trailer for you detailing just what you will be getting. Minus the access denied folder with contents that not even I know. Trust me…I am dying to know what’s in it. Our own Scott Alminiana has pre-ordered this set after we saw it on the floor of this years San Diego Comic-Con. Will you assemble and purchase this ultimate collection?

So by now you all know that The Avengers is coming out on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 25th. If you didn’t know that, where have you been? Anyway, we now have the details of what will be on the home release. To go along with the release Marvel is releasing a  new app called “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App.”

“By downloading this onto a secondary device, consumers will be able to gain unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release on September 25. Pieces will be unleashed bi-weekly in July and August and weekly in September leading up to a full immersive experience accompanying the film on Blu-ray. Content includes special access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, invitations to “special missions” either remotely or in the field, links to character profiles, stories and scenes, interactive Marvel digital reader comic books and more. App owners will receive push notifications whenever new content is uploaded and available for their viewing.”

PACKAGING & BONUS FEATURES:

4-Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D+Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy+Digital Download of the “Inspired By” album)
Bonus Includes:
-Second Screen
-Assembling the Ultimate Team
-A Visual Journey
-Gag Reel
-Deleted Scenes
-Audio Commentary—With Joss Whedon
-Soundgarden Music Video—“Live to Rise”
-And more!

2-Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD)
Bonus Includes:
-Same as the 4-Disc Combo Pack above

1-Disc DVD
Bonus Includes:
-Assembling the Ultimate Team
-Audio Commentary—With Joss Whedon

High-Definition & Standard Definition Digital
Bonus Includes:
-Second Screen
-Assembling the Ultimate Team
-A Visual Journey
-Gag Reel
-Deleted Scenes
-Soundgarden Music Video—“Live to Rise”
-And more!

 

Source: Marvel

‘The Avengers’ is set to hit shelves on September 25th. We have a trailer for you to get you excited the Blu-ray release that even seems to sneak in some of the new footage that will be seen on it. I won’t lie…kind of made me want to go see it again. Are you ready to assemble again?

Marvel continues teasing their next big event “This Is War”. While many fans speculated this could be the Ultron War it continues to look less and less like it. Could they be going against the government? The Punisher?! I’m calling it as The Punisher based on these teasers. Guess we will have to wait and find out at Comic-Con.

Find out more Sunday, July 15th at the Amazing Spider-Man panel, 12:30PM PST, during Comic Con International 2012! Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along on the Marvel Events App & events.marvel.com, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth, and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!

And don’t forget to join the conversation on Twitter with #ThisIsWar!

It’s part 2 of the most important discussion known to mankind!

Everyone has a fictional character they’d bang, whether it’s someone from a movie, a comic, or a car insurance company. So the Geekscape staff put together their top 5 lists, High Fidelity style. 

Joe Starr

Black Widow: Specifically the Iron Man 2/Avengers Black Widow. “Is that dirty enough for you?” COME ON. I actually wasn’t on the ScarJo train until Iron Man 2, and by the time the Avengers credits were rolling I was riding the train like a DJ from the Quad Cities.  Note to self: Do more things like a Quad City DJ. She’s hot, she’s tough. Plus, she’s written by Joss Whedon so you know we will have clever banter. OH the banter we will have.

Arcee from Transformers Prime: This one isn’t about sex. I mean, that happens, but I’m pretty sure that this is the first female character that I’ve found myself admiring and investing in in years. I mean, she’s amazingly strong and independent, a tough but warm woman you can’t help but respect. She’s a breath of fresh air from fake stupid pixie dream girls like The New Girl in the same way that Thor and Captain America were a nice break from ‘guys that want to focus on their photography’ for ladies. It’s not my fault she’s a robot that turns into a motorcycle that I’d have sex with.

Margaery Tyrell: Tyrell is unnervingly beautiful. She’s a subtle player in the Game of Thrones making smart moves. After all, remember what Training Day Denzel said: This is chess, it ain’t checkaz! Tyrell is a chess player. And sometimes she shows her boobs sometimes.

Emma Stone: Ok, look. Emma Stone isn’t real. She can’t be. She’s got all of the hotness Lohan had going for herself circa Mean Girls and none of the coke and coke and coke and coke. Also, she seems pretty rad. Way too rad to be real. It’s like life’s writers felt bad about Lohan and gave the world a do over. I want them to fight. It would be fucking epic. I’m pretty sure Lindsay would work as an alt dimension evil Emma, because she’s starting to get a bit of a goatee.

Kaylee Frye: Look, if we’re gonna go Pixie Dream Girl let’s at least go with one that can fix a starship with a roll of duct tape and sheer will. This chick would roll her eyes at Zooey Deschanel and then hit her with a wrench. And then have sex with me fingers crossed?

Allison McKnight

David Xanatos from Gargoyles:  Look, I’m just going to lay it all out there.  He’s hot.  Look at that stylish ponytail, that jawline and those shoulders.  And not only is he infinitely bangable, he’s a mastermind, manipulating the world to suit his visions.  He moved an entire castle!  How many men can say that?

Caesar from Xena:  Molly may have her heart-on for Ares, but we all know where it’s actually at: Caesar, as played by Karl Urban.  Oof.  Can I get that a second time.  Oof.  That is one sexy hunk of sociopathic manflesh, right there.  He can chain me up, torture me, and take over the civilized world any day.

Gregory House: It’s House, for christsake.  This is the man who walks around, scowling, picking people’s brains apart like he was ripping open a wad of cotton candy.  Gooey, emotion-filled cotton candy.  Even with only one good leg, he’s probably a better lay than… well, I’m not going to name names.

Richard B. Riddick: Sure, he’s a bit of a deviation from my usual lust for Magnificent Bastards, but have you seen those pecs?  In all seriousness, that man is a sex ninja.  That’s right: a sex ninja.  I’m talking about going through positions that normally aren’t physically possibleand he’s all bestial-hind-brain driven– you can tell by his opening narrative that he’s not just a growler, he’s a biter.

Mitsuomi Takayanagi from Tenjho Tenge:  This is a bit of an obscure character for most and, man, is his hair odd.  But when you’re an intelligent piece of beefcake that is casually manipulating people into potential deadly scenarios so you can finally bang your angry ex-girlfriend into submission… mrowr.

Russell Sherman

Jessica Rabbit: Now this is the only female character that could make me choose to be straight.  She’s sexy, loves the nerdy type and is committed to her man, sure she likes to pay patty cake but who doesn’t?  This chick is all right in my books.

Dr. Emmett Brown: Inventor of the stylish time machine, the Tardis may have a pool but it’s not a DeLorean.  Who would want to spend their lifetime traveling through time with their lover?  Doc is the whole package, he’s a creator, smart, artistic (although not always to scale) and the man can dance.

Sam and Dean Winchester: Those two have earned sex from everyone on the planet, they prevented the Apocalypse, fought the devil (and won), and are actively trying to make the world a better place even though it keeps taking everyone they care about away.  We owe them this, gay straight doesn’t matter they have earned a spit roast with you in the middle.

Merlin: He’s frikin’ magic for crying out loud, this is a man that could make all of your dreams come true.  If you want to frak on a magic carpet ride he could make it happen.  You want to ride a unicorn down the wedding isle again he could make this happen.

Wallace Wells: The gossip man who owns all the cool things in Scott’s apartment.  He’s sarcastic, Canadian and gay so this makes him the one character on this list that I’d actually have a chance with not to mention if things work out we could actually get hitched and it’d be legal.  That man is good looking in both the comics and the movie and is not afraid to speak his mind.

Matt Blackwood

Aela the Huntress from Skyrim: Face tattoos, mismatched armor, lots of skin showing- she’s like a medieval Suicide Girl. Plus, she’ll kill a storm atronach with a rusty dagger if you ask her. Of course, there is that “wet dog” issue; is there a Valtrex for lycanthropy?

Blink from Exiles: She’s brave, clever, kind. And pink. All over. Also, you never have to worry about being late again; with her portal power, you can go wherever you want INSTANTANEOUSLY! You want to step out for Chinese in Beijing? Bring a Somalian family to the never-ending pasta bowl? Get a Facebook profile pic on the Moon? Blink can make it happen. And did I mention she’s pink?

Terry Griffith from Just One of the Guys: Terry is the best kind of girl- one with balls. As a budding investigative journalist, Terry fights against the rampant sexual discrimination she faces by going undercover in drag to write an expose. She’s tough and funny and smart and willing to fight for the disenfranchised. And if you’re one of the guys who saw the flashing scene in his formative years, I don’t have to tell you what a model of physical perfection she is.

Margrethe from Job: A Comedy of Justice: While God and the Devil play their sick games with our hero (randomly dropping him in alternate realities Sliders-style in this classic Heinlein twist), Margrethe is the only constant good. The Danish stewardess is kind, understanding, and sexy. And anyone who makes sandwiches that can LITERALLY be considered heaven is worth holding on to.

The Mother from How I Met Your Mother: Like JJ Abrams, I’m obsessed with a mystery box. In 7 seasons, we’ve never actually met the mother. It’s the most misleading title since BJ and the Bear. Will we ever actually see her or is she like the alien from Contact? Is the mother just a concept, an ineffable ideal? Well, if the pedigree of Ted’s past girlfriends (including Cobie Smulders, Jennifer Morrison, and Mandy Moore) is any indication, the unseen mother is going to be totally effable.

Brian Gilmore

(Editor’s note: NSFW…It’s Gilmore)

Ariel from The Little Mermaid: Now, you can only really either go kind of masogynist or extremely masogynist on this one. Because you either have a girl that has no other choice but to go with mouth sexies all day all the time or one that’s super hot and can’t talk. She’s really willing to go a long way for you, too with the whole abandoning her people and voice thing. And she’s always pretty much topless, which is awesome. Also she wouldn’t get fat from having kids with you since they’d probably just grow in egg sacs.

This just got weird. Moving on.

Daphne from Scooby Doo: Any girl that wears a vagina-length skirt to a swamp and yet bothers to wear a scarf is fine by me. She’s also an idiot, which is awesome for a 1-night stand… I mean, they’re all idiots on that show unless every crook in the Scoobyverse is good enough at make-up design to be a contestant on Face Off. Also she’ll think you’re awesome in bed, since all she’s used to banging is one of the most infamously closeted gay characters in classic cartoon history. I always kind of assumed he was so obviously fabulous that he dressed her. One day: “gurrrl, how you wearin that fabulous purple dress with no flair?! Here, borrow one of my scarves!” Not only are her insanely hot fashion choices the thing that made me realize that legs rule, but she has red hair, and as we already established, this matters.

Tinkerbell: NO. SHUT UP. HEAR ME OUT. So, I’m not going to try to make the age-old argument of “hell yeah, I’d make her look like a lobster dinner” that you’ve heard pretty much since before we walked upright as a species and consistently every night as a child. This isn’t why we’re here. We’re all better than that. It’s because it wouldn’t entail any actual kind of P-in-V, so it’d be a one of a kind experience. Let me explain. And I’m so sorry for this. She’d be buzzing about at maximum speed all over you and everything would just kind of feel like as if Fleshlights worked themselves hands-free while you sat comfortably in a vibrating chair. She’d be the Brookstone of fictional lovers. Also, awesome fashion choice once again. Strapless dress that goes up to the fallopes even when 90% of the time she’s flying? Awesome fashion choice.

Wait. We can pick people played by actual humans?

Inara from Firefly: The only downside to this is that she might be a little disappointed because it’d be like asking a surgeon to do surgery at home (I swear to God there’s a better analogy for that). But she’s trained to do this. It seriously has to rule. Also you’d be doing it in space, which is awesome. Although technically I guess you’re always in space. But after letting her show you why only rich white dudes can afford her, assuming she’d be hosting (and yes, these are all now Craiglist casual encounters in my head), you could go down to the cockpit and play dinosaurs with Wash, as long as this was a time in which we hadn’t watched how he soared yet.

The Nun That Kate Upton Plays in the New Three Stooges Movie: I just really want to have unprotected Catholic sex with Kate Upton.

Stephen Prescott

Joan Halloway from Mad Men: Va-va-va-voom!

Winifred Burkle from Angel: She is the definition of adorkable and she’s a genius to boot. Zooey Deschanel wishes she had an ounce of the awesome that Fred has.

River Song from Doctor Who: Super smart, omnisexual and psychopathic. Everything I look for in a woman.

Irene Adler from Sherlock: Sherlock’s equal in almost every way. Also any woman who considers getting naked “putting on her battle armor” is a woman I’d like to meet.

Rose Tyler from Doctor Who: I don’t think there will ever be a time where I don’t have a total crush on Rose. I could blather on forever about how clever she is and how gorgeous she is and how much fun it would be to travel through space and time with her. I feel as though I completely understand why the Doctor loved her so much.

Jonathan London

The Cuckoos: Choices 1-3 MADE in a Greg Land drawn mind sexing! And one of them is in profile because Greg Land couldn’t find anymore three quarter model shots to trace in the Sears catalogue!

Gambit: He’s just a shithead. A bangable shithead that smells like cigarettes and strip clubs.

A bunch of pugs dressed up as Elf Quest characters: Editor’s note: JK this exists at London’s house and is not fictional.

Justin Lamb

Zuul The Gatekeeper: Dana Barrett is a triple threat. She’s a culturally affluent Manhattanite who plays the cello. She enjoys aerobics but knows when to spoil herself with a bag of Stay-Puft marshmallows. And she’s the corporeal medium for a demigod worshiped by the Sumerians and Hittites in 6000 BC. Long story short, things could get frigthful, but I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Our safety word could be proton pack. Are you the keymaster? Yes. Yes, I am.

Pris from Blade Runner: Basic. Pleasure. Model.

Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH: I feel for Mrs. B. She is a sweet widower who wears that Pixie cut really well. She sort of reminds me of Mrs. Dawes, the 40-something woman who used to live next to my parents. Mrs. Dawes would work in her garden in a swimsuit top and khaki Mom shorts but she would still look surprisingly hot. Who knows, one night after stealing some corn from Farmer Fitzgibbons, maybe I would be cutting through her yard and oops I sprain my ankle. Mrs. B takes me inside to help me ice it down but instead things heat up. And then we put that red hood over those old photos of Jonathan Brisby.

Erin the Esurance Girl: Fearless, smart and sexy – whether she was stopping giant death-ray wielding automatons or saving me up to 25% on my auto insurance, this secret agent always sent me Thunderballing. Esurance stopped using her after she did poorly in a survey of popular corporate mascots. Despite being decommissioned though, she still fires up my Burn Unit.

An adult version of Princess Ruto from Ocarina of Time: I spent so many hours on that fucking Water Temple…I earned this.

Rumor warning! This is not confirmed.

SuperHeroAuthority is reporting that we may just see the 35 minute longer ‘Directors Cut’ being released into theaters this summer in an attempt to knock ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’ off the top of the hill.

“The Avengers is sitting comfortably at No. 3 overall on both the domestic and International ticket sale charts but it seems both Marvel and Disney desire the No. 1 overall spot and a current rumor says they could be contemplating releasing The Avengers: Director’s Cut in theaters at the end of this summer.

Please remember this is from a ComicBook.com post and another Hollywood source who has heard this rumor and told SuperHero Authority this is a possibility but nothing has been confirmed to actually happen. Marvel and Disney have not said anything regarding this new rumor as well.

So, while this is a major rumor…I would definitely not rule it out as a possibility. Especially because of the fact that most of us have seen this movie at least 2-3 times already. Would we most likely assemble again with that additional 35 minutes of footage? Definitely.

And what comic fan wouldn’t love to see ‘The Avengers’ hit number one?

So, even though i’m a die-hard Nike person… I had heard about this awhile back and I have been waiting for some previews to drop and here they are! If you know me and my Wade Wilson fanboy ways… I’m probably going to end up buying those Deadpool ones!

 

 

Release dates have yet to be announced.

Source: Zombiebacons

I have been meaning to write about Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow for a while, and with Battleship do to overtake The Avengers in the box office this weekend, I better write it now! So, here we go: why Black Widow is important to the portrayal of women in action films, especially in the superhero subgenre. (That’s what you call a thesis, folks!)

Although I’m not very familiar with the Marvel Universe when it comes to comics, I am fairly versed with action films in general, and superhero films in particular. I have  seen just about every single superhero movie since they became the “thing” again with the release of X-Men in 2000. Batman Begins, Iron Man, Superman Returns, Spider-Man, etc., etc. As you can tell by the titles, they were about men, and if you watched any of them you might have notice a severe lack of women. While each of these films had a leading lady of some degree—Rachel Dawes, Pepper Potts, Lois Lane, and Mary Jane Watson—you might also have noticed that each of these women also happens to be the titular man’s love interest.

Now, before someone gets offended or pissed off at me for denigrating the clever Pepper Potts or the brilliant reporter Lois Lane to “love interest”, I must say that, with the exception of Rachel Dawes, I am quite fond of all of these women, especially in their comic book form. That said, in the comics they have lives of their own and arcs that consist of more than “I will not date you, but I think you’re adorable” to “you have won me over with your heroism, let’s get to it!” As far as the movies are concerned, there isn’t much else to them, no matter how snappy their dialogue may be.

Enter Black Widow.

There she is!

Just like the rest of these women, she’s attractive, sophisticated, and damn good at her job.  Unlike the rest, she exists without the need of a romantic story line. She is a supporting character who helps the hero meet his goals and doesn’t feel the need to bang him for doing a good job. She is a breath of fresh air, not only in action movies, but movies in general. It is rare to find a female character who wants things, not just in addition to, but completely outside of a husband or boyfriend. What’s more, is she has survived two films without falling into that trope. It was easy for her not to do so in Iron Man, as Pepper Potts is the leading lady in that franchise, but to hop ship to The Avengers and not be paired with any of the men (two of whom lacking girlfriends going in), is pretty spectacular.

Yes, there were a few hints by others that she and Hawkeye may have more than just a working relationship, but each time it was dismissed by the present party. Additionally, in their shared scenes it was standard banter between co-workers. It’s so good to see a male and female character work together without emphasizing the sexual tension. It’s good to see they can be friends and not be destined to the When Harry Met Sally endgame of holy matrimony. It’s good to have movies where the main female character is too busy kicking ass and saving the universe to even think about her libido or if she’ll find true love and all that jazz.

Black Widows kill their mates, anyway. Life is sometimes better than sex. Sometimes.

Now, I’m not saying love is a bad thing. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things in the universe (you may read my Valentine’s Day article about it), but romantic love isn’t for everyone. Not everyone wants it (believe it or not!), and very few people want it all the time. We go through ebbs and flows regarding the relationships we want and need in our lives (at least I know I do), and it’s nice to finally be able to go to my kind of movie and see the character I self-identify myself with due to the vagina thing (if nothing more) and not have to watch her fall madly in love with the hero. It’s liberating.

What I also like about Black Widow is that she can, for the most part, take care of herself. Aside from the weird horror film sequence in The Avengers where The Hulk–I mean, “the  Other Guy”–chases after her and she runs around, trying to hide like a terrified little girl, she’s a fairly competent hero. A competent hero sans-powers, at that! She kicks ass, takes names, and helps her team save the day with her interrogation skills and ability to coax the villain into monologuing his schemes away (no matter how obvious it may have been to the audience). Additionally, Black Widow’s introductory scene was awesome. Even with the god-awful hair whipping that was supposed to be a headbutt. The way she worked around the chair was pretty spectacular, and not something I had seen before.

Which is more beneficial: A woman with a gun or a bowman?

An interesting, independent female character who is trying to seek redemption on her own terms, and not in the arms of a lover? Yeah, she gets my vote for Best On Screen Female Comic Book Character. Definitely. Even with the over-sexualized portrayal of her in the advertising of the movie (but that’s been talked about to death, and I want to stay mostly positive in at least once when talking about The Avengers).

That said, as much as I like Black Widow, I’m not sure if a solo film starring her is where it should go. Perhaps a S.H.I.E.L.D. film is a good idea; but a solo film, I’d imagine, would basically just be a female James Bond movie, and would negate all the pros I was pitching, as Bond is nothing if not hyper sexed and romanticized, even if he refuses to fall in love. And yes, I recognize that seduction may very well be one of her tools for gaining information, but so far it hasn’t been used and I’d like it to stay that way.

Nevertheless, I see this as a major step forward (be it conscious or not by the filmmakers), and I hope that we can see more women like this in action films, and maybe it will coax DC into finally bringing a decent Wonder Woman project forward, and not just some half-assed attempt like last year’s pilot (which I watched and it was just dreadful).

In the mean time, we’ll see two women in The Dark Knight Rises. One being Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, the other is Miranda Tate who may potentially be Talia Al Ghul. If so, then both women are known for their romantic ties to the Batman just as much as, if not more so, they are known for anything else. Considering Catwoman is advertised as a major villain in the film, I doubt it will be all that defines her (and if Miranda is Talia then of course there will be a bigger arc, due to her Ra’s role in Batman Begins). Nevertheless, it seems doubtful that a romantic story arc–no matter how doomed to fail or tragic–will be missed in the case of either of these women. Not to mention, since the death of Rachel in Dark Knight, there will surely be a hole to fill in the Caped Crusader’s heart.

This feels somewhat reminiscent of 1992 … did you used to be a blonde?

We’ll see. I won’t necessarily be disappointed either way, I just hope it doesn’t take another decade or so before a female hero can exist without her presence being justified or dependent upon her male counterpart.

SPOILERS! Heidi and Stephen set out this week with a great topic in hand, Outer Space, and a “Favorite Moment In…” to feature The Avengers. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, neither host could come up with just one moment in The Avengers that they loved the most. So they babbled on for most of the episode about how great the film was and what it means as a comic book film. Some of the concerns and criticisms brought up by Jonathan in the Geekscape Avengers episode are also addressed because Stephen only likes arguing with Jonathan when Jonathan can’t answer back.

They did however get around to talking a bit about outer space. Topics covered were “The Moon Treaty,” “The Outer Space Treaty,” and the recently brought to the media’s attention “Build the Enterprise” project.

Moon Treaty on Wikipedia

Outer Space Treaty on Wikipedia

Build the Enterprise.org

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Set within the same universe as Vivid’s very successful Spider-Man XXX and their upcoming releases, She Hulk XXX, Thor XXX & Iron Man XXX, director Axel Braun’s Avengers XXX combines the separate films into the beginning of a larger tale.

As news reports begin to flood in about the destruction being caused by an unknown entity, Agent Nick Fury (Lexington Steele) decides it’s time to go public with S.H.I.E.L.D and gathers together his superhero taskforce in order to combat this new menance.

The problem is, the “unknown” entity is actually the ragin’ and rampagin’ Incredible Hulk (Jordan Lane).

After Iron Man (Dale Dabone) attempts to subdue him on his own and fails, Fury realizes he needs to call on bigger guns… like the son of Odin, Thor (Brenden Miller) and a mystery hero who will be revealed at the end of the film.

Also working on Fury’s taskforce are the Scarlet Witch (Dani Cole), Ms. Marvel (Lexi Swallow), Spider-Woman (Jenna Presley), She Hulk (Chyna), Black Widow (Brooklyn Lee), and Hawkeye (Eric Masterson).

Among these heroes, we’ll see the naughty team-ups between Ms. Marvel and the Scarlet Witch, Black Widow and Hawkeye, She Hulk and Thor, and other surprise moments. This’ll certain be be better than most erotic fan “art”.

I visited the set on a day scheduled for two sex scenes: the Black Widow/Hawkeye pairing and the She Hulk/Thor pairing. Watching the painstaking work of the make-up artists as they transformed the wonderfully sweet Chyna into sassy She Hulk and being able to see the amount of work put into the some of the sets was incredible.

So please enjoy our Geekscape exclusive shots from the set of Vivid’s latest superhero parody, Avengers XXX!

Starting here...

...to get to here.

Stop, it's hammer time? (Brenden Miller)

Take one Hawkeye (Eric Masterson)...

Add in a bit of Black Widow (Brooklyn Lee)

A dash of sound guy (a dashing sound guy?)

A teaspoon full of camera dude. (Ew, no.)

And that's how porn is made.

Avengers XXX is set to release on May 4th, 2012.

I know that you’ve read a ton of other articles about fights people want to see in Avengers vs. X Men. And I know that you’ve been bored by them. Captain America and Cyclops? Meh. Rogue vs. Iron Man? Pfft. Red Hulk vs. Armor and Surge…? Acceptable. With fights that bland, I can’t believe Marvel hasn’t been purchased by Dreamwave yet.

There are a lot of battles I’m dreaming of that Marvel just doesn’t have the courage to give us. So here, in no particular order, are most of them.

 Decade Late Battle of the Decade: 

Gambit vs. 90’s Thor

Remy Lebeau: The poster child of 90’s Marvel. He’s still wearing that damn coat and that black and purply armor/jumpsuit thing and he’s still throwing cards. He couldn’t be anymore 90’s if he was throwing Wildstorm cards.

But the Son of Odin shant let the X Men own the 90’S! It’s time for Thor to pay his storage unit a visit and fish out the STRAPS! CHAINS! BELLY SHIRT! SHOULDER PADS! Whoever wields this dick armor, should he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!

Projected winner: Gambit is shattered into a pile of Phalanx Covenant hologram covers when he tries to hit Thor in the junk with his staff.

By the Order of Agent Henry Peter Gyrich:

Token Black Guy Battle Royale

Storm. Black Panther. Bishop. Falcon. That smart kid from New X Men that lost his powers. Patriot. Black Widow. Black Knight. Black Tom Cassidy. Throughout the years, a respectable handful of black superheroes have either protected a world that hated and feared them or served as one of earth’s mightiest heroes.

But heads up, true believers: after AvX every spot for an African American hero is being taken up by a different Spider-Man costume variation, and according to Gyrich, the Avengers and X Men will share one only black person between the two teams.

Projected winner: Krystalin from X Men 2099 wins the spot. Black Panther stops hanging out in New York all the time and remembers to run that country that he’s the king of.

The Real McCoy:

X Men Beast vs. Avengers Beast

One 3.99 22 page comic of Hank McCoy sitting in his room making a pros and cons list about which team he should fight alongside. WRITTEN BY GRANT MORRISON.

Projected Winner: Whichever one makes him not look like a cat anymore.

Kid Gladiator vs. Everyone

I mainly just want to see Kid Gladiator beat the hell out of that dinosaur kid from Avengers Academy like a super strong Verne Gagne. Did you guys know that Kid Gladiator is the future of comics? Because he is.

Projected Winner: Kid Gladiator beats up the whole crossover, jumps to the New 52, and takes care of them, too. Broo helps.

The Chuck Austen Memorial Cage Match: 

Lionheart vs. Nurse Annie

If Lionheart wins, she gets to see her kids which she couldn’t do for some reason! If Annie wins, she…I guess she bangs Havok? And her son watches? Chuck Austen was weird.

Projected Winner: Chuck Austen, for me reminding everyone he existed for a paragraph.

Andy Kaufman InterGender

Championship Match: 

Hank Pym vs. Emma Frost

I just want to see Hank try and give Emma the Pym-Hand. She used to be a stripper. They know how to deal with dudes like that.

Projected winner: Emma Frost makes Pym sit on his hands by force.

The ‘I Know Now Why You Cry But It Is Something I Can Never Do’ Invitational Robot Fight: 

Vision vs. Danger

Maybe it’s because I was just writing about old Chuck Austen runs, but I hope Scarlet Witch falls in love with Danger.

Projected Winner: Vision is in control until Hugh Jackman figures out how to make Danger mimic his shadow boxing moves.

Avengers: Disassembled

vs. X Men: Disassembled

Bendis is leaving Avengers. We know this to be true. And we all know by now that his roadmap to a franchise’s success looks something like this:

1. Disassemble
2. Red Ninjas
3. Profit
4. Red Ninjas

Don’t think it’s not coming, X fans. Sure, they just schismed, but right after we had a Civil War we were Secretly Invaded, and then we faced Fear Itself like two days later. Somewhere in there, Spider-Man big-timed. X Men: Disassembled is coming for us and the mutants are going to have to prove that they can disassemble better than the Avengers.

This will be an uphill battle for the X Men. For one thing, they don’t assemble so I think they’ll have to call it X Men: Disuncannied. I hope Bendis just makes X Men: Disuncannied Pixie’s fault so we can get rid of her.

Projected Winner: Bendis gets five more years of glory when The Hood relocates The Hand to San Francisco.

Johnny Guitar and Dr. Sax

Not even fighting anyone. I just want them around more.

Projected Winner: Everyone that buys The Adventures of Kid Gladiator Featuring Johnny Guitar and Dr. Sax #1, the MAJOR new ongoing series spinning out of the pages of AvX written by Dan Slott and Jason Aaron with art by Stuart Immonen!  Special back up story: BROO MEETS PRESIDENT OBAMA!

Joe Starr is the host of GEEKSCAPE PRESENTS, our monthly free live comedy show. The next one is April 3 and you can learn all about it HERE.