Category: Comic Books

Comics and Comic Book Characters

News from War Of The Realms

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After much anticipation, Marvel’s epic universe-wide story has finally arrived. The gist of War Of The Realms is the ongoing war throughout all the Asgardian realms finally comes to Midgard, aka Earth. I would be surprised if this doesn’t get made into a film within the next decade or so, as the concept is just too cool to not do on a blockbuster big screen.

Here are six noteworthy things concerning War Of The Realms. Spoiler alerts of course.

1) Laufey Is Back

Unless you’re an old school Marvel fan, or remember the first Thor movie very well, you may not know the name Laufey. Well, as depicted in said first Thor movie, Odin adopts Loki. Laufey is Loki’s biological father. It’s not mentioned a ton in the MCU, but Loki does have the last name of Laufeyson. After being deader than dead to the point of being a skeleton, Laufey is brought back from the dead by Malekith. Plus, he is a true Frost Giant and stands probably a good 50 feet tall.

2) Loki is Dead… Again

Speaking of The God Of Mischief and Evil, Loki is literally eaten alive by Laufey. Yep, munched down like a potato chip by his own dad. This is probably the 173rd time Loki has died, but who’s counting? We’ve seen him die time and time again, and he always has some plan for coming back. This time will likely be no different. Plus, just like Infinity War, he dies in the opening act of the story. Not a usual trope to kill a character out of the gate, if he’s going to stay dead. Or stay dead by the comics standards of a few months at least.

3) Valkyrie Is Dead

It was Malekith himself that did the deed in the final page of issue #2. Now, some Marvel fans know that Jason Aaron is penning the new Valkyrie title. And now that the “real” Valkyrie is dead (or at least dead by the comics standards of a few months), it explains why Jane Foster is stepping into the role.

4) Thor Wields Dual Hammers

Of course, with Mjolnir’s destruction last year, Thor has been using different hammers. Now, he openly wields two. One has a very similar shape to Mjiolnir, while the other one has a flat end, while the other has a ball end similar to Stormbearker. Perhaps it was inspired by the hammer Thor made during Infinity War.

5) Luke Cage Is (Apparently) Worthy Of Asgard Weapons

In a teaser cover image for the War Of The Realms tie-in Strikeforce (which sadly does not feature Tito Santana or Rick Martel), Luke Cage is carrying a hammer that looks very similar to Mjolnir. It’s possible it may be in cosmetics only, and not a true mystic hammer, but I think most fans would have no problem seeing Luke as being worthy of picking up an Asgardian Enchanted Hammer.

6) Bog Tigers Are Cool

Malekith has been seen on and around a white tiger that has wings similar to a bat or dragon. The proper name of this creature is Svartalfheim Bog Tiger. If War Of The Realms is ever turned into a movie, the bog tiger will be a new hit sensation with fans. Many stuffed animals would be sold. As big as BB-8 or porgs were to Star Wars? Only time will tell.

That’s only 1/4th of the way through the main story, so there is probably more to come. You can pick up War Of The Realms #1 and #2 now, along with the other tie in issues throughout the Marvel brand.

Anything you liked about War Of The Realms? Sound off below!

Russo Brothers Developing Stan Lee Documentary

With Avengers: Engame looming over the summer movie season, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have revealed they are developing a documentary on none other than Stan “The Man” Lee.

Superhero Hype reports that a project is in the works that will pay tribute to Lee’s time with Marvel.

“We are fascinated by the life of Stan Lee and we are actually developing a little something that has to do with his work in the history of Marvel.”

-Anthony Russo via Superhero Hype

Lee of course passed away late last year at the age of 95, and had over two dozen of his signature cameos in Marvel TV and film projects. He served as an Executive Producer for many Marvel films, most of which were based on his creations. The Russo brothers have confirmed Endgame will be the legendary creator’s final cameo.

Geekville Radio #227

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Geekville Radio #227

Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to the airwaves to discuss some of the news topics of the week

Mark Hamill to be in Guardians Of The Galaxy? (1:15)

Since the return of James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, rumors have resurfaced that Mark Hamill may be playing a character in the film. Could he be a hero? Villain? Mercenary?

Emily Bett Rickards leaving Arrow (9:30)

The actress recently announced her departure from Arrow. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Felicity will not be appearing in Season 8. Could this mean a return to the comic-based pairing of Green Arrow and Black Canary?

Disney recasting X-Men except Deadpool (16:00)

It had been speculated for years, but Marvel all but confirmed during C2E2 that The X-Men and Fantastic Four will be recast and rebooted for The MCU. The only exception is Ryan Reynolds will continue as Deadpool.

We did predict on Episode 225 that this would happen, because it’s common sense. Though it will likely be several years before we get the MCU Proper X-Men film.

There is the new rumor that Stan Lee cameos may be replaced by Deadpool cameos. Which may be the best option to go with.

It is also worth noting that X-Men material is already available on Disney’s site.

Here is the list of channels and studios that Disney now owns after the merger with Fox.

  • Twentieth Century Fox
  • Twentieth Century Fox Television
  • Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • Fox 2000 Pictures
  • Fox Family
  • Fox Animation
  • FX Productions
  • FX Networks
  • Fox21
  • National Geographic Partners
  • Fox Networks Group International
  • Star India
  • Fox’s part of Hulu

Batman retrospective 80th Anniversary (29:30)

At C2E2, DC Comics held a Batman 80th Anniversary Panel, in which some fun questions were asked.

The creation of Batman has its roots in the pulp crime magazines of the 30s. Several of the panelists mentioned the characters of The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet as pre-Batman inspirations.

Well, who are three out of the first four entrants in our Lesser Known Geek Hall Of Fame? The Shadow, The Phantom, and Green Hornet

Is there a favorite incarnation of Batman?

All this and more in another fun-filled edition of Geekville Radio!

Marvel Comics Upcoming Stories

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Geekville Radio #226: Upcoming Marvel Stories

At C2E2, Marvel unveiled their upcoming major storylines that will take place in 2019.

War Of The Realms (1:55)

The major universe-wide crossover is called War Of The Realms. As the name implies, it is all 10 Asgardian Realms. The last one left is Midgard, aka Earth. This may be an attempt to put Malekith on the level of a Dr. Doom or Kang, as he will be the central villain.

Marvel’s teaser for War Of The Realms

House Of X (7:55)

Every few years, Marvel does something to refresh the X-Men franchise. This summer brings two new X-Men titles, House Of X, and Powers Of X. Both set to be written by Jonathan Hickman.

As usual, Marvel was tight lipped over what will happen, but the presentation did have an interesting piece of art showing many characters from, as they put it “Past, Present, and Future”.

Official artwork for House Of X and Powers Of X hint characters from the Past, Present, and Future

Absolute Carnage (14:30)

Yes, Cletus Kassidy is back from the dead… again!

This time around, Carnage is hunting down everybody who has EVER used a symbiote suit. This means not just Peter Parker, Eddie Brock, or the other usual suspects. Even The Guardians Of The Galaxy, Deadpool, and dinosaurs are potential targets.

Admittedly, I could only think of about 20 off the bat, but there were others who fit the bill of using a symbiote

  1. Peter Parker (obviously)
  2. Eddie Brock
  3. John Jameson (He brought symbiotes to Earth in the first place)
  4. Ben Reilly (Spider-Carnage)
  5. Scorpion
  6. Scream
  7. Flash Thompson (dead, but dead characters always come back in comics)
  8. Norman Osborn
  9. Dr. Octopus
  10. Maniac
  11. Toxin
  12. Scream
  13. Punisher
  14. Deadpool
  15. Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel
  16. Hybrid
  17. Silver Surfer
  18. Knull

I’m curious how Carnage would last against those last two, wince their cosmic level characters

The others that I forgot were (and this is by no means a complete list)

  1. Wolverine
  2. Rocket Raccoon
  3. Groot
  4. Drax
  5. Gwen Stacy
  6. Thunderbolt Ross
  7. Tony Stark (if artificial symbiotes count)

Not only that, the special variant covers seem to imply other Marvel heroes may bond with symbiotes. Including Captain America, Black Panther, and Thor.

As discussed, I attended C2E2 with Clint from Geek Dig Podcast, and Joe from Beside The Point.

And Norko from The Wrestling Brethren Podcast did have this unintentionally hilarious post due to Autocorrect.

Can’t wait for that Ryan Rembrandt Deadpool

Mark Hamill’s Role In Guardians 3?

Science Fiction icon Mark Hamill is allegedly back in negotiations to appear in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3. It was widely reported last year that Hamill had talks with director James Gunn, but what role they had discussed remained under wraps.

Of course, Gunn was famously fired by Disney last year over controversial tweets made a decade previously. Gunn was re-hired earlier this month, but no major casting news came about in the interim.

Now the site We Got This Covered is reporting that Hamill may in fact be in talks to play Rocket Raccoon’s creator. This could easily be an original character, or a take on secondary or tertiary characters from the Marvel Universe.

In the comics, Rocket has no specific creator. He came from a planet called Halfworld, in which animals were genetically enhanced by robotic users to have human-like characteristics. Rocket served as a law enforcement officer for the Keystone Quadrant, thus literally making him a Keystone Cop. He and his then counterpart Wal Russ (Yes, a talking walrus) once infiltrated the planet to rescue their friend Princess Lynx from Lord Dyvyne. They battled with Blackjack O’Hare’s Black Bunny Brigade (Yes, a mercenary group of bunnies) while making their escape.

Rocket was also at some point held captive by a villain called The Stranger, and managed to escape his clutches.

To be clear, these are all speculative possibilities based on Rocket’s history. The true role Hamill will play, if hired, has not been publicly discussed.

Hamill is no stranger to the comic book world. He most famously provided the voice of The Joker for many years in various Batman productions. He portrayed James Jesse, aka The Trickster in the short lived 1990 Flash TV series. A role he recently reprised for the current CW show. He’s also voiced various characters including Wolverine and Hobgoblin for Marvel, and Darth Bane for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Currently, he is a regular in Season 2 of The History Channel’s series Knightfall.

So what character could the Jedi Joker be playing on the big screen? Personally, our money is on the mercenary bunny…

New X-Men Titles Due In June

Over the years, Marvel had revamped the X-Men franchise several times. At C2E2, the next X-Men revamp was announced, and it will be hitting shelves this summer.

House Of X, and Powers Of X will launch in June, and will both be written by Jonathan Hickman. The rest of the creative team will be Pepe Larraz, R.S. Silva, and Marte Garcia. It is important to note that the X in Powers Of X is the Roman Numeral 10, so its proper pronunciation is “Powers Of Ten”.

While the entire premise of these new titles was still under wraps, artwork teased at the panel showed several characters from X-Men past, present and future.

Just looking at that image, you can see Mr. Sinister, Wolverine as Weapon X, Wolverine in his 80s brown suit, Apocalypse, Emma Frost as Black Queen, Dazzler in her disco tights, and a ton of others.

C2E2 Report: Marvel’s War Of The Realms

At Friday’s C2E2 panel, Marvel announced the next epic story to span across the Marvel Universe will be called War Of The Realms. The proper series drops in April, and will consist of six issues. Like with most Marvel Universe tie-ins, multiple heroes will be affected in their own ongoing titles.

As the name implies, this involves Asgard and all the other realms in Marvel lore. Malekith The Accursed, the Dark Elf Lord, will be the main force behind these wars. All but one realm has felt the effects of these wars. The last one left untouched is, of course, Midgard aka Earth.

This means Asgardians, Frost Giants, Dark Elves, Light Elves, etc… will all be wreaking havoc on Earth, in it will be up to the Marvel heroes to deal with it. It also seems to be an attempt to make Malekith an “A-Lister” on the level of Loki, Dr. Doom, or Kang.

Marvel has pulled out all the stops with this tale, including releasing an official theme song for this comic event. It is linked below for listening

Squadron Supreme will be re-introduced and will be based out of Washington DC, making them “DC’s Finest Heroes” (ba-dump CHING!). Not to be outdone, fan favorite Phil Coulson will be a part of the war as well in the Avengers title.

War Of The Realms will be written by veteran Thor writer Jason Aaron. art will be by Russell Dauterman and Natthew Wilson. The first issue hits April 3rd and the series will run through the summer. Aaron did state that this will end his seven year run on Thor, and he will be part of a new (presumably ongoing) Valkyrie stand-alone title.

Overall, this is looking like another solid epic story from Marvel. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this becomes the basis for a future Thor film, should Chris Hemsworth stick around for Phase Four or Five.

Geekville Radio #225: Disney/Fox

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It’s a mega-sized collection of news on this episode of Geekville Radio. Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to talk some of the major headlines

Disney/Fox Merger and The MCU (1:27)

This week, Disney’s merger/buyout of 21 Century Fox properties still has the world buzzing because it has finally become a reality. The effects that this could have on some of their franchises could be felt for years to come.

Perhaps the biggest news, possibly even bigger than the obvious Star Wars distribution rights, is the Fox owned Marvel properties that can now be incorporated into the MCU.

The most obvious addition would be that of The X-Men. One of fans’ biggest complaints about the MCU is it never incorporated Marvel’s famous mutants. Now, that plethora of of characters can be introduced in Phase Four.

The other Fox owned Marvel property is The Fantastic Four. While the three movies may not have been as successful as most MCU movies, two characters linked to that specific brand could easily become major players as villains in future films. Those are of course Doctor Doom and Galactus.

While many fans are understandably thrilled about this, it is very possible there may be some major changes in store for the franchise.

First off, it is not a given that the existing X-Men actors will carry over into The MCU. And yes, that includes Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Despite already having five films’ worth of Spider-Man films, Marvel still recast Tom Holland in the role.

There is also the possibility that, by using the same actors, continuity just would be less sensical. After all, if the X-Men movies are considered part of the MCU, why didn’t The Avengers assist with any of those world-threatening situations.

Deadpool may stay according to reports, though as Train points out, the studio change may legally be a recasting of the role to Ryan Reynolds, just under a new company.

Disney/Fox Merger and Star Wars (19:20)

Another fan friendly wish that may become a reality is the re-release of the Original Trilogy, aka “Non-Special Editions”, Star Wars films. As discussed before, Fox owned the distribution rights to Star Wars. Thus, any theater or home video release could only be through Fox, unless some deal was worked out with Disney. That of course is no longer an obstacle.

Disney Rehires James Gunn (32:10)

Disney announced the return of director James Gunn to Guardians Of The Galaxy vol. 3. Was the reaction to past controversial tweets overblown? Did Disney cave? Was it just trolls? Or did they have this planned all along? There is evidence for all of these possibilities.

Gunn will still be writing and directing Suicide Squad 2, so Guardians 3 will have to wait for that project to finish before it starts filming.

Arrow will end with Season 8 (40:40)

Actor Stephen Amell broke the news via Twitter that Arrow will be ending after a 10 episode season 8.

Oliver Queen himself revealing that Arrow is coming to an end


We already know that Crisis on Infinite Earths will be next years crossover. We also know they’ve been teasing Crisis since the pilot episode of Flash.

In the comics, Flash and Supergirl die during Crisis. Does this mean their respective TV shows will end as well?

Speaking of deaths, Oliver Queen did die in the DC Universe, but was brought back by Hal Jordan as Spectre. So it is very possible that Ollie may bite the big one, and be brought back in some capacity later on.

Bill And Ted 3 (52:40)

The last segment off the show is devoted to the long-awaited confirmation that a third Bill An Ted movie, now titled Bill And Ted Face The Music, has begun filming. Could a sequel to a 30 year old cult classic work in mainstream 2019?

As always, we welcome your thoughts on all these stories. Let us know in the comments section or on our social media

The Disney Acquisition Of Fox Is Complete

At midnight tonight, the merger between Disney and 20th Century Fox will be complete. This means Disney will officially own many of the biggest franchises in history.

Variety reports, as expected, that Disney shareholders are happy with the news. Meanwhile, Fox shareholders are less enthusiastic.

The good news is, of course, that movie distribution rights for previous Marvel and Star Wars properties are now all under one roof. This means that The X-Men can be formally introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Fox also had rights to Fantastic Four, which means A-Listers like Doctor Doom and Galactus could be part of the next MCU phases as well.

And, as classic trilogy fans have wanted for 20 years, it could conceivably mean that Disney could release “Non-Special Editions” of the original three Star Wars films. It also means the 3D releases, hyped a number of years ago before LucasFilm sold to Disney, could become a reality as well.

Conceivably, Disney could do crossovers with the properties. Could we see a Guardians Of The Galaxy crossover with Star Wars? Or The Deadpool Goofy Movie?

Like with many mergers, there is a downside. In this case, as many as 4,000 people could be laid off. No major business deal goes without losses.

Do you have any hopes for the new Disney/Fox era? Let us know in the comments.

James Gunn Releases Statement About His Return To Disney

James Gunn made the following tweet in response to his re-hiring as director for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1106633508657651712
Tweet from James Gunn’s official Twitter

Gunn was famously fired last summer over controversial tweets he made in 2009. The cast of the previous two films petitioned to have him reinstated. Warner Bros. then hired Gunn to helm Suicide Squad 2 for rival DC Comics movie universe. Disney Chairman Alan Horn met with Gunn and officially re-hired him this week.