Comics and Movies

[Runwildboys]

While reading an article (10 Superhero Movies With The Best Fight Scenes, Ranked), I started thinking of the best comic book movie mano a mano/hero versus villain fights I have seen over the years. Here are my ten favorite fights of that kind:

Black Panther vs Killmonger, Black Panther (2018)

Blade vs Deacon Frost, Blade (1998)

Captain America vs The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Iron Man vs Iron Monger, Iron Man (2008)

Spider-Man vs The Vulture, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2019)

Superman vs General Zod, Man of Steel (2013)

The Hulk vs The Abomination, The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thor vs Malekith, Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike, X2 (2003)

Wonder Woman vs Ares, Wonder Woman (2017)

You do realize "mano a mano" means hand to hand, not man to man, right?

Good list though!

 

[DallasEast]

You do realize "mano a mano" means hand to hand, not man to man, right?

Good list though!

Each faceoff isn't hand-to-hand?

 

[Runwildboys]

Each faceoff isn't hand-to-hand?

With swords and magic hammers and stuff?

 

[DallasEast]

With swords and magic hammers and stuff?

You're right. Mano a mano is too much. Me sorry.

 

[nobody]

With swords and magic hammers and stuff?

I don't know why, but this comment instantly brought to mind.....

 

[Runwildboys]

You're right. Mano a mano is too much. Me sorry.

Lol

 

[Runwildboys]

I don't know why, but this comment instantly brought to mind.....

Classic!

 

[DallasEast]

HORROR COMICS #10 & 11: WHAT IF DRACULA WAS…ZORRO?
By Nick Lopez | Comic-Watch.com
June 5, 2022

Recap
Horror Comics is, well you probably guessed, a horror comic series published by Antarctic Press. It is one of their four ongoing, indie anthology series which are modeled after (and continued from) those of the Golden Age (see also Exciting Comics, Jungle Comics, and Planet Comics). In what is by far the best outing for Horror Comics to date, Issues 10 and 11 (released simultaneously this week) reprint the story “Dracula in the West,” originally anthologized in one of Italy’s premier and longest-running, illustrated magazines, Lanciostory in 2019.

Review
Before we begin our story, we are greeted by an introduction from our writer, Gianluca Piredda in which he reflects on the legacy of the titular count. Citing the various films, books, plays, and parodies that Dracula has appeared in since Bram Stoker’s novelization, Piredda muses, “everything has been said about him…or has it?”

With the audience’s curiosity peaked we find a horseman, draped in an ornate cape and hat, fatigued and out of place, as he and his equine companion slog through the deserts of the American Southwest. Falling to an almost-certain death as the rising sun begins to catch his skin aflame, Dracula is discovered by a small Native American boy, who covers him and rides him into his village.

Read more

 

[DallasEast]

10 Darkest Characters The Teen Titans Have Fought In The Comics
By David Harth | CBR
June 5, 2022

The Teen Titans have been through multiple incarnations over the years, but one thing that never changes is the caliber of villains they face. The group is part of DC's big three teams, training the younger generation of heroes away from the adults, and they've been called upon to tackle some nasty threats. They've frequently faced enemies much darker than teenagers have any business facing.

From interdimensional despots to universal destroyers to their own teammates, the Teen Titans have been forced into some desperate circumstances against foes who are among the darkest out there. The fact they were able to survive is a testament to their skills.

10. Deathwing Did Some Reprehensible Things

Read more

 

[DallasEast]

Wonder Woman: 5 Things We Want to See in the Third Movie
By Richard Fink | MovieWeb
June 5, 2022

It’s been five years since Wonder Woman opened in theaters. The character had been one of the most popular superheroes in the history of comics, making up part of the DC trinity alongside Superman and Batman; yet despite this, it took over seven decades for her to get her own movie. The character's feature film debut may have been in 2016's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but it was the first Wonder Woman film that connected with audiences and made the character, star Gal Gadot, and director Patty Jenkins sensations overnight.

Wonder Woman grossed $412 million domestically and $821 million worldwide. The sequel Wonder Woman 1984 was set for a big summer release in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the film and Warner Bros. released it in theaters on Christmas day in theaters and HBO Max on the same date. Critical reaction was not as positive to the sequel, but audiences are still eagerly anticipating the release of Wonder Woman 3. No release date has been set for the film, but both Gadot and Jenkins are set to return, and with the recent delay to Jenkins's Star Wars-directed film Rogue Squadron, it is highly likely Wonder Woman 3 is closer than audiences realize.

As with any superhero sequel, part of the fun is speculating on the film. While the current state of movies in the DCEU is currently up in the air following the recent merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, it appears more answers will be answered following the release of The Flash in June 2023, which is rumored to give the franchise a soft reboot. While it is unclear what this means for Wonder Woman 3, it is likely the studio still has plans for this profitable franchise. The two previous feature films have been inspired by the character's original comic book origins and the 1970s Lynda Carter series leaving plenty on the table for the third chapter. With over 81 years of comic book stories, the filmmakers have plenty of great material to draw from. Here are five things that should be included in Wonder Woman 3.

Read more

 

[DallasEast]

Green Lantern & Sinestro Were Created With The Perfect Movie Actors In Mind
By David Miller | Screen Rant
June 5, 2022

Although Green Lantern hasn’t had much success on film, the famous DC Comics superhero and his nemesis, Sinestro, are based on two famous actors who sadly never portrayed these characters themselves. Although the first Green Lantern to hit newsstands was Alan Scott, who wields a ring fashioned from a magic green railroad lantern, the most famous iteration of the character is Hal Jordan, who DC introduced in 1959 during what’s now known as the Silver Age of comics. Superhero films didn’t become a major profitable film genre until the early 2000s, but a successful Green Lantern film with prestigious cast members during their heyday would significantly change the entire pop culture landscape.

Green Lantern’s only cinematic outing thus far is the 2011 film of the same name, featuring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan and Mark Strong as Sinestro. Despite having a talented cast, the film failed to please casual viewers and comic fans alike and was a box office failure. Since then, the only live-action Green Lantern to appear on film is Yalan Gur, who appeared briefly in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, though there were plans to introduce both John Stewart and Hal Jordan to the DCEU, with the latter being depicted by Ryan Reynolds once more.

Gil Kane, the co-creator of Hal Jordan and Sinestro, based their respective appearances on famous Hollywood actors, with Jordan resembling Paul Newman and Sinestro's appearance being modeled on David Niven. Superhero films had major successes via Richard Donner’s Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman, but with Green Lantern’s characters being based on such famous actors, WB (who acquired DC Comics in 1969) could have adapted the property to film as an experiment, testing its marketability with such prestigious names. If this hypothetical Green Lantern film was a success, the superhero blockbuster would have become a lucrative genre much earlier, in addition to making Hal Jordan one of DC’s most popular heroes.

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[DallasEast]

How The MCU Can Avoid The Major X-Men Problem Its Already Caused
By Neave Glennon | Screen Rant
June 5, 2022

The X-Men have already been confirmed to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the MCU still needs to avoid an X-Men problem of its own creation. To date, civilians in the MCU have been exposed to superhumans, alien races, sentient robots, and Gods. In fact, they've been exposed to these events so frequently that it's become their new normal, so the addition of Mutants creates some crucial problems for the MCU - which many pre-existing X-Men theories do not consider.

The primary theme that underlies the X-Men has always been racial conflict, with Stan Lee's mutants serving as a metaphor for the Civil Rights movement. In Marvel comics, the X-Men have primarily been oppressed by humans for their gifts. Mutants are born with their powers, whereas superheroes usually go through origin stories to "earn" them in Marvel comics, creating a major difference between Mutants and superheroes. Furthermore, the conflict between the two prominent X-Men figureheads, Charles Xavier and Magneto, only exists because of how Marvel comics' society treats Mutants. Given how superheroes are currently revered in the MCU, it makes it hard to see how this conflict will translate over from the original FOX X-Men installments, as it's less likely that Mutants will be discriminated against in the MCU's current incarnation.

However, releases in Phase 4 have shown a clear shift in the MCU's formula. For example, WandaVision and Spider-Man: No Way Home show humans developing a significant distrust toward once-loved superheroes such as Spider-Man. Likewise, the recent events of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness have amplified this distrust even further. Not only is it plausible Wanda's actions in the film will cause a further divide between heroes and civilians, but many human characters were also shown to have lost faith in heroes such as Strange by the end of the movie. With Marvel now set to release Secret Invasion on Disney+ within the next year, they have created the perfect opportunity to set up the X-Men in MCU as its public perception of superheroes begins to change.

Read more

 

[DallasEast]

X-Men: Siege Perilous Explained
By Nola Pfau | Den of Geek
June 6, 2022

The recent Knights of X #1 marks a new chapter in the ongoing saga of Betsy Braddock, the mutant telepath once known as Psylocke of the X-Men and currently serving as Captain Britain. The final issues of Excalibur saw the conquest of Otherworld, Marvel’s version of the realm of faerie magic, at the hands of Merlyn and King Arthur. This cut Otherworld off from Krakoa, effectively isolating Betsy and the rest of the Captain Britain Corps there. Luckily, she’s got some help! Roma, Merlyn’s daughter and a friend to the X-Men from days past, gives Betsy the chance to assemble a team for a proper Arthurian quest to find the artifact known as the Siege Perilous.

Originally appearing as part of a Captain Britain (Brian Braddock back then, Betsy’s brother) story in Mighty World of Marvel #13, the Portal Perilous, as it was known in that appearance, was a large portal to alternate Earths, through which the body of Merlyn was consigned (like many characters, he died, then got better) by Roma.

The first time it was known as the Siege Perilous was in Uncanny X-Men #229, once again under Roma’s power. Here, it took the form of an overlarge brooch which could be expanded into a gateway large enough for individuals to walk through. Claremont’s decision to use the name “Siege Perilous” is an interesting metaphorical one, on par with his often-grandiose artistic statements at the time; in original Arthurian lore, the Siege Perilous refers to a seat at the Round Table, reserved for the Knight who succeeded in a quest to recover the Holy Grail. As a word, we understand “siege” as a type of military assault, but it comes from the French word for seat, and so it was used historically. So why name this artifact, which seems to represent the opposite of sitting, after an old seat at the Round Table? Well, that’s part of the metaphor, as explained by Roma to the X-Men a few pages after the above, “As Avalon was for King Arthur, so may the Siege be for you.”

Read more

 

[DallasEast]

The trailers and teasers have already revealed some changes that will be seen in the series. Two more days until the Disney+ launch.

 

[Stash]

Wonder Woman: 5 Things We Want to See in the Third Movie
By Richard Fink | MovieWeb
June 5, 2022

It’s been five years since Wonder Woman opened in theaters. The character had been one of the most popular superheroes in the history of comics, making up part of the DC trinity alongside Superman and Batman; yet despite this, it took over seven decades for her to get her own movie. The character's feature film debut may have been in 2016's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but it was the first Wonder Woman film that connected with audiences and made the character, star Gal Gadot, and director Patty Jenkins sensations overnight.

Wonder Woman grossed $412 million domestically and $821 million worldwide. The sequel Wonder Woman 1984 was set for a big summer release in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the film and Warner Bros. released it in theaters on Christmas day in theaters and HBO Max on the same date. Critical reaction was not as positive to the sequel, but audiences are still eagerly anticipating the release of Wonder Woman 3. No release date has been set for the film, but both Gadot and Jenkins are set to return, and with the recent delay to Jenkins's Star Wars-directed film Rogue Squadron, it is highly likely Wonder Woman 3 is closer than audiences realize.

As with any superhero sequel, part of the fun is speculating on the film. While the current state of movies in the DCEU is currently up in the air following the recent merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, it appears more answers will be answered following the release of The Flash in June 2023, which is rumored to give the franchise a soft reboot. While it is unclear what this means for Wonder Woman 3, it is likely the studio still has plans for this profitable franchise. The two previous feature films have been inspired by the character's original comic book origins and the 1970s Lynda Carter series leaving plenty on the table for the third chapter. With over 81 years of comic book stories, the filmmakers have plenty of great material to draw from. Here are five things that should be included in Wonder Woman 3.

Read more

After the disastrous failure of WW84, do “we want to see Wonder Woman 3” at this point? I’m certainly not in a rush. That last film was an embarrassment.

 

[DallasEast]

After the disastrous failure of WW84, do “we want to see Wonder Woman 3” at this point? I’m certainly not in a rush. That last film was an embarrassment.

I do but it is no secret that I am a glutton for punishment. Something has not sat right for me since the sequel came out.

In my opinion, Patty Jenkins did a heck of a job with the original film. However, she followed it by also directing Wonder Woman 1984. Something's not kosher.

Chris Pine's character was unnecessarily forced into the sequel. I respect Pedro Pascal but there was little reason to force his Maxwell Lord character into the sequel either with The Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman's fiercest arch nemesis, in the film too. It is likely just me but I think Kristen Wiig landed the part of The Cheetah mostly for sarcastic talent than acting. Sometimes it upsets me when a movie tries too hard to be overly witty.

I am willing to give Jenkins a mulligan for the sequel. The primary fault may have been in the screenplay itself, which tried to do too much unnecessarily. Dave Callaham wrote the screenplays for both WW84 and Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. There is a BIG gap in story quality between those too films.

Perhaps the original movie's screenwriter, Allen Heinberg, should get a shot at the third film. His writing resume is much more female-centric and includes comic book dialogue work also. His stuff paid off for the first movie. I think it would be wise allowing him another crack at the franchise.

 

[Stash]

I do but it is no secret that I am a glutton for punishment. Something has not sat right for me since the sequel came out.

In my opinion, Patty Jenkins did a heck of a job with the original film. However, she followed it by also directing Wonder Woman 1984. Something's not kosher.

Chris Pine's character was unnecessarily forced into the sequel. I respect Pedro Pascal but there was little reason to force his Maxwell Lord character into the sequel either with The Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman's fiercest arch nemesis, in the film too. It is likely just me but I think Kristen Wiig landed the part of The Cheetah mostly for sarcastic talent than acting. Sometimes it upsets me when a movie tries too hard to be overly witty.

I am willing to give Jenkins a mulligan for the sequel. The primary fault may have been in the screenplay itself, which tried to do too much unnecessarily. Dave Callaham wrote the screenplays for both WW84 and Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. There is a BIG gap in story quality between those too films.

Perhaps the original movie's screenwriter, Allen Heinberg, should get a shot at the third film. His writing resume is much more female-centric and includes comic book dialogue work also. His stuff paid off for the first movie. I think it would be wise allowing him another crack at the franchise.

I just found it shocking that the same director from part one was involved with the mess that was part two. I really liked the first film and my entire family and I were SO let down by how awful the second film was.

And it absolutely got a break from that well-deserved criticism. Because of just how awful ‘84 was, I will be very skeptical of any third film and will likely wait to see it at home, if at all.

 

[quickccc]

While reading an article (10 Superhero Movies With The Best Fight Scenes, Ranked), I started thinking of the best comic book movie mano a mano/hero versus villain fights I have seen over the years. Here are my ten favorite fights of that kind:

Black Panther vs Killmonger, Black Panther (2018)

Blade vs Deacon Frost, Blade (1998)

Captain America vs The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Iron Man vs Iron Monger, Iron Man (2008)

Spider-Man vs The Vulture, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2019)

Superman vs General Zod, Man of Steel (2013)

The Hulk vs The Abomination, The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thor vs Malekith, Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike, X2 (2003)

Wonder Woman vs Ares, Wonder Woman (2017)

1) Civil War - Pro Capt vs Pro Iron Man

2) Xmen vs Hellfire Club (Xmen: First class)

3) Avengers vs Thanos - Infinity War

4) Xmen vs Apocalpyse final battle

5) Hulk vs Hulkbuster

6) Superman vs Batman- Dawn of Justice

7) Wolverine vs Lady Death Strike

8) Hulk vs Thor (Avengers) .. and Hulk vs Thor II (Thor Ragnorak)

9) Wolverine vs Mystique

10) ' 1977 Superman (christopher reeves) vs General Zod

 

[quickccc]

While reading an article (10 Superhero Movies With The Best Fight Scenes, Ranked), I started thinking of the best comic book movie mano a mano/hero versus villain fights I have seen over the years. Here are my ten favorite fights of that kind:

Black Panther vs Killmonger, Black Panther (2018)

Blade vs Deacon Frost, Blade (1998)

Captain America vs The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Iron Man vs Iron Monger, Iron Man (2008)

Spider-Man vs The Vulture, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2019)

Superman vs General Zod, Man of Steel (2013)

The Hulk vs The Abomination, The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thor vs Malekith, Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike, X2 (2003)

Wonder Woman vs Ares, Wonder Woman (2017)

- Ares (vs Wonder Woman) was portrayed by such a goofy looking actor

- LOL ... i knew @Dallas East could not resist Thor: Dark World per Thor vs Kurse,.. he so luvs that movie

- i so hated the Vulture look.. lame, cheap and

- Killmonger vs Black Panther showdown seems like a big video game ...

 

[DallasEast]

1) Civil War - Pro Capt vs Pro Iron Man

2) Xmen vs Hellfire Club (Xmen: First class)

3) Avengers vs Thanos - Infinity War

4) Xmen vs Apocalpyse final battle

5) Hulk vs Hulkbuster

6) Superman vs Batman- Dawn of Justice

7) Wolverine vs Lady Death Strike

8) Hulk vs Thor (Avengers) .. and Hulk vs Thor II (Thor Ragnorak)

9) Wolverine vs Mystique

10) ' 1977 Superman (christopher reeves) vs General Zod

The article I read included number 1 and number six. Bucky was involved with Stark vs Rogers, so that matchup was a little one-sided for over half of the fight. Wayne versus Kal-El was cool but was not done as smartly as I would have preferred--such as in The Dark Knight Returns. In my opinion, Batman would need SOME help. It kinda makes me side with @Runwildboys counterargument that Supes should have dusted Bats without any effort, lol.

The hero versus hero matchups can be thrilling but I have always put them below the hero/villain faceoffs. In the back of my mind, both instances of number 8 do not move the needle as much for me.

As far as multiple combatants are concerned, I do think numbers 2 and 4 could push the article's Wonder Woman and Batman/Superman choices out of its top 10. And it astounds me that number 3 was left out of the article's list. A real headscratcher.

I might have added number 10 into my available choices for my list. However, Man of Steel permanently pushed all of Christopher Reeves' scenes into my rear view window.