Students of the Future (Part 2)

This is the continuation of The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted X-Men For TV. Here I'll be finishing up the list, so if you haven't read Part 1 please check that out first. Anyway, on with the List!

#2: Forge

Forge has never appeared in any movies, but his presence could obviously fit into the franchise. Forge's mutant ability is his mastery over technology, understanding the capabilities of any machinery he comes in contact with. For TV this power is perfect as it isn't visually costing and purely an actor-presented skill. All an actor would have to do is make an expression and say a lot of big, nerdy words to justify his intelligence. In the comics, Forge build the X-Men's Danger Room battle simulator and their jet, The Blackbird. Seeing Forge become increasingly smarter and develop more technologies would earn him a lot of respect among all the X-Men. Also he's replaced his limbs with cybernetic weapons, so you could give a Terminator-esque theme if you want.

#1: X-23

As much as it pains me to admit, the X-Men franchise has solely survived off the coattails of Wolverine. He's often the focus of these movies-for better or worse-and his presence is always required if the movie is going to be successful. That being said I doubt Hugh Jackman would appear in every episode of this show, so why not have a Wolverine-like character to remind us this is an X-Men show? X-23 is a clone of Wolverine developed by Weapon X. Her upbringing is dark, violent and tragic, making her a tough character who's hard to befriend. Having X-23 on a show like this would diverse the cast by giving us a complex and rebellious shadow of the X-Men's poster boy. Her powers could be replicated with props and minor CGI, but it would be the development of her character that'd keep viewers entertained. And with X-23 in this show, there's a chance Wolverine could show up for one episode to spend time with kind-of-daughter he never knew existed.

That's my list, loyal readers. Do you agree or have ideas of your own? At any rate I'm looking forward to see what Fox comes up with, so lets hope it's good! Follow The Panel Biter on Twitter and Facebook! Thanks for reading!

Students of the Future (Part 1)

After yesterday's Z-Lister and the recent announcement by 20th Century Fox of an X-Men television show being developed, I had the idea of doing another Top 5 List. Assuming this television show will tie into the X-Men movies, I've compiled a list of X-Men I want to appear in this new TV show. So here it is, The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted X-Men For TV!

#5: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was severely missed after X2 and seeing a new version of the character reappear as the glue of the X-Academy team would be awesome. His teleporting powers could work on a TV budget and his personality would add some light heartedness to the cast. In the "X-Men Evolution" cartoon, Professor X gave Nightcrawler a device to disguise him as a human, so by working that idea into the show the make-up effects and CGI for his tail wouldn't have to be constantly utilized. And honestly, Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Men. Selfish me!

#4: Colossus

An underused asset in the movies, this new Colossus could very well be the poster boy for this show. Big, strong, commanding, but also kind hearted, Colossus could act as the big brother to his fellow classmates. The villain known as Girder from CW's "The Flash" used a similar metal-coating power, so the effects are there for Colossus' powers. One this character's alternate origins involves being a spy for the Russian government, so that could be an interesting backstory. Plus, if they cast right, maybe he can actually have a Russian accent. Thanks X2!

#3: Jubilee

Jubilee's only appearance in the X-Men movies was a small cameo in a deleted scene, a stark contrast to her being a main character in the 90's "X-Men: The Animated Series". Jubilee would fit perfectly into this show because her personality invokes that of a maturing teenager. Her power is to shoot energy blasts she calls "plasmoids", it's a simple enough ability to use on TV. Also, should this show take place in the 90's-similar to "First Class" and "Days of Future's Past" being set in different periods-Jubilee would fit perfectly into that 90's attitude. I mean look at her!

Please Continue to Part Two.

Oh Right, You're Here

With over fifty years of history, it's easy to admit The X-Men are one of the most important comic book teams to exist. They signify diversity, youth and family. A big family at that! Seriously, you could fill the Titanic with every X-Men and you'd still have elbow room. But with every family there is the black sheep, the belated, the unmentioned. Well, that's where today's Z-Lister comes in. If you don't remember him then join the club, this is ForgetMeNot!

At first glance, ForgetMeNot doesn't resemble your typical mutant. He's no Canadian adonis or blue-haired monster, he's an overweight man with a balding problem. But given his special mutant ability you wouldn't harbor on these imperfections too long because you wouldn't remember them. ForgetMeNot's power is to be instantly forgotten. He doesn't manipulate memories intentionally, but if he happens to escape somebody's field of vision, he'll be completely forgotten. Even if you get know to him, your memory of him will reset the moment you lose track of him. Unnoticed by everyone, ForgetMeKnot has been a member of the X-Men for six years, unknowingly responsible for many victories against aliens and giant robots. The only person to remember his presence was Professor X, who made a telepathic command to remind himself of ForgetMeKnot's existence every hour. However, after Professor X died ForgetMeKnot lost complete interaction the rest of the X-Men and became depressed. When Wolverine opened up a new school for mutants, ForgetMeKnot roamed the campus at night to watch over the students. At one point ForgetMeKnot pled to the villain Omega to rid him of his curse, but ForgetMeKnot changed his mind at the last second and realized he could do a lot of good with his powers, regardless of the cost. He saw that doing something good without be noticed is better than doing nothing at all.

It's easy to forget that this Z-Lister is an X-Men, not just because of his specific power, but because he's been so underused in the X-Men comics. When I went read into this character, I found myself wishing more writers would use ForgetMeKnot, as his unnoticed activities have saved lives and won battles. ForgetMeKnot represents the fear that despite our efforts, we will always go unnoticed. But more so, he represents the idea that good things shouldn't be done out of notoriety, good things should be done for the sake of doing good. All ForgetMeNot ever wanted was to be noticed, but after all his achievements and challenges, he realized he doesn't need to be noticed. All he needs to be is an X-Men. Thanks for reading!

If you love The Panel Biter and all it's delicious content, listen up! The Panel Biter has just started a Twitter page! Follow @ThePanelBiter to keep up on all your host's activities, news and blog posts! And don't forget (like that guy^) to follow The Panel Biter on Facebook for further news! Thanks again for reading!

When The Think-Tank Spills

The Illuminati. If you've been active on the internet for the past decade or locked up in your basement with a dart board of speculation theories that word must send a shiver down your spine. To speak of the real/not real Illuminati theory is a subject for another website, but believe it or not The Illuminati does have a comic book presence, a less menacing one at that. This is Marvel Comic's Illuminati.

After the 1972 comic event "Kree-Skrull War" Tony Stark/Iron Man gathered several heroes in the African city of Wakanda for a private meeting. The men invited included: Earth's ultimate sorcerer Dr. Strange, Namor the King of Atlantis, Black Panther the King of Wakanda, Black Bolt the King of The Inhumans, Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four and Professor X of the X-Men. Stark noted that information withheld by various heroes could've prevented the alien war between the Kree and the Skrulls and that by united together as a representative body, the heroes of Earth could better protect it from threats like said war. The various intellectuals debated on the idea and although they generally saw faults with Stark's idea, they agreed to join in secrecy as The Illuminati.

The Illuminati played large parts in the background of several events. They divided the all-powerful Infinity Gems among themselves to keep their power away from anyone else. After The Hulk destroyed Las Vegas, Stark proposed the idea to The Illuminati of sending The Hulk to another planet. They came to a vote, Hulk was launched off Earth, and he later returned seeking revenge (see "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk"). The Illuminati were the first to learn about Tony Stark's Superhuman Registration Act before the "Civil War" event. During "Secret Invasion" The Illuminati studied a shapeshifting alien who disguised himself as an Earthling, then learned that their own Black Bolt had been replaced by another disguised invader. Recent events have shown the slow destruction of The Illuminati. Beast of the X-Men had replaced Professor X after the Professor's death, Captain America had briefly joined the team until a disagreement in morals led to Cap ordering the arrest of The Illuminati, and Black Panther killing fellow member Namor after a war between Atlantis and Wakanda led to hundreds of Black Panther's subjects drowning. The Illuminati now stand against The Avengers in how to properly defend Earth.

I understand the need for organizations like these, groups of individuals willing to make the tough decisions in order to save the Earth. Sometimes that means eliminating an ally, other times it means destroying an entire planet to protect Earth. A think-tank of Marvel's most intelligent heroes is something I would be fine with seeing in the background, though. Watching a roundtable of costumed men speak in "science talk" is only entertaining for so long. Groups like these must exist in the real world, as they should if our security and safety is a priority. This Illuminati can be chalked up as an undercover United Nations. I'd like to see The Illuminati presented as more cynical anti-heroes in Marvel Comics, as well as maybe a Cinematic version of the group. They'd be lacking Mr. Fantastic and Professor X, though. Hey, just throw Hank Pym in there. On second thought, don't throw Pym in there, he might go all "abusive husband" again. Thanks for reading.

The Web of Tokusatsu

Little known fact about me, loyal readers: I happen to be a fan of Japanese pop culture. Specifically anime, manga, and without a doubt, Tokusatsu television shows. "Tokusatsu" is Japan's take on costumed superheroes with an easy example being Super Sentai, which was adapted into the American television series we know as Power Rangers. But did you know the existence of those teenagers with attitude was all thanks to Marvel's teenager with attitude? Sit down as I teach you about Spider-Man's Japanese television series.

In 1978, Marvel Comics made a deal with the Japanese production company Toei to allow borrowing of certain characters. Marvel wanted to use two of Toei's cartoon robots for a comic series called "Shogun Warriors" and Toei wanted to use Marvel's Spider-Man. Toei's Spider-Man show was actually going feature Spidey as a supporting character to the legendary prince of the Yamoto Dynasty, Yamoto Takeru. This was scrapped and Spider-Man was made the focus of this show. This version of Spider-Man was vastly different from the original, with Spidey's creator Stan Lee praising the show's originality and effects work. The show lasted 41 episodes and many of it's tropes-giant monsters, battle robots, catchphrases and action poses-were brought over to Toei's proceeding TV series like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

This Spider-Man was a 22 year-old motorcycle racer named Takuya Yamashiro. He lived with his sister and little brother, and his girlfriend was a freelance photographer. Takuya's father was an astronomer and was killed by aliens. After finding a crashed spaceship, Takuya met a warrior named Garia from Planet Spider. Garia had failed to save his planet 400 years ago from the same aliens who killed Takuya's father and in his dying moments injected his blood into Takuya and gave him his ship, The Marveller. The alien blood gave Takuya super strength, wall clinging and precognition, but also spider-like weakness like vulnerability to cold temperatures. Takuya was also given The Spider Bracelet which spun webs, strings, his Spider-Protector suit and allowed him to control his machines. Machines like The cannon-bearing Marveller, the weaponed flying car Spider-Machine GP7 and Spider-Man's ultimate weapon, the giant robot Leopardon.

Like Peter Parker, Takuya had many issues revolving around his heroic responsibilities. He was often labelled a coward for running away from fights (only to return and fight as Spider-Man), he gained less income as his duties as Spider-Man would keep him from racing and he'd constantly struggle with the death of his father. His enemies included the alien organization known as The Iron Cross Army and their leader Professor Monster. The Iron Cross' other leader was Amazoness, a shapeshifting Amazon who attempted to discover Spider-Man's secret identity. Each episode would feature a monster created by Professor Monster and groups of Iron Cross foot soldiers.

This show was uploaded onto Marvel's official site in 2009 if you still want to check it out. It's defiantly a bizarre take on Spider-Man, but enjoyable in consideration of what this show did for Japanese television. Without this show, the genre of Tokusatsu wouldn't exist much like the superhero genre not existing without Superman's creation. It's nice to know that despite whatever dark history America has with Japan, stories like these convince us that people of all nations can unite under one concept. Good versus evil. And we have squinty-eyed Spider-Man to thank for that. That wasn't a racial joke, that Spider-Man costume literally has squinty eyes. Jeez, I'm classier than that kind of satire. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Of Mortal Coil

The duality of mortals and gods has crafted tales of mythological epics and suspenseful wars. Gods are worshipped by mortals, while mortals are but playthings in the hands of legends. In the world of comic books, there is one character who divides this concept. Today we will be exploring the little known origin of The Mighty Thor.

Don't let the movies fool you, Thor's beginnings as a hero were much different than simply landing on Earth. Thor's father Odin sought to teach his arrogant son humility, to do this Odin created a human body for Thor and placed the thunder god into this body. Now with no memory of his Norse God status, Thor believed himself to be Donald Blake, a handicapped medical student born and raised on Earth. After ten years living as Donald Blake and earning his doctor's license, the brainwashed god received a mental suggestion to vacation in Norway. Once there he stumbled upon a group of aliens planning an attacking. Blake retreated into a nearby cave-secretly the birthplace of Thor-and discovered a mysterious cane. Blake became angered and confused by his mental suggestions and struck the cane against a boulder. The strike triggered the cane's transformation into Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor. Donald Blake became the God of Thunder Thor, defeated the invaders and went on to become protector of Earth. Later becoming a founding member of The Avengers.

As time went on, Blake regained memories of his life as Thor until Odin finally revealed the truth. Despite this, Thor's experience of being a weak mortal had taught him to appreciate being a human. As Donald Blake, he had fallen in love with a mortal woman and saved numerous patients as a medical professional. Thor had felt a responsibility to be both Doctor Donald Blake and The Mighty Thor. Eventually, Thor gave up his human body and returned to being purely a god, but a god with the humility of man.

This backstory for Thor is no doubt my favorite, as it displays a strong lesson in humanity. Only by being weak and small, can someone appreciate being big and strong. And once being a cripple, Thor learned how difficult it is to be weak and how even humans hold love and respect to each other in the same manner as his Asgardian peers. Many secret identities create the idea that being a hero is more fun than being a normal person, but when your civilian identity saves as many lives as your superhero identity it only shows that despite what name you carry you're stay the same person through and through. Honestly though, with so many superheroes who yell a word or perform a stance to become heroic, I can understand why Marvel Studios just kind of plopped Thor in Mexico. Originality, folks. Thanks for reading!

Small Screen Suggestions (Part 2)

We'll be continuing The Panel Biter's Top 5 Wanted DC Comic Television Shows with the last two entrees. If you haven't read Part One, I'd suggest checking it out before proceeding. Moving on now:

#2: Booster Gold

Booster Gold comes from a future where superheroes are modern day legend, inspirational relics of the golden age. Booster himself was a just a lousy janitor who stole superhero equipment from the museum he worked at and used time travel technology to return to the modern age as a superhero. Unlike most heroes, Booster relishes the money and fame that comes with the superhero life, but it is only through his failures and redemptions that learns humility. Being a time traveling hero, Booster could easily find himself meeting other time displaced DC characters like Rip Hunter, The Legion of Super-Heroes, and maybe even Jonah Hex. Along with his best friend Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, Booster Gold could bring a fun, comedic and visually stellar science fiction adventure to the screen.

#1: Astro City

The most ambitious suggestion of the Top 5 comes with Astro City, an anthology series that spans several different time periods, but is always set in the titled city. Astro City is home to many superpowered beings including caped heroes, dark vigilantes, and twisted villains. Most of the stories are actually centered around the humanity of Astro City, stories are told from the perspective of everyday citizens, retiring criminals and the superhero community itself. As an example, one story is centered on an innocent bystander after he was held hostage by a super-villain and how he copes after the kidnapping ends. A series like this could really show the flip side to the superhero genre, how the world of superheroes behaves in between giant battles. A period piece, a story-by-story series, and much more, I believe Astro City could be a more personal take on the Comic Book genre.

Do you agree with my list? Do you have ideas of your own on what DC comics could be television shows? Please comment, if so. I hope you like The Panel Biter's first official list. More to come in the future. Thanks for reading!

Small Screen Suggestions (Part 1)

Today The Panel Biter is treading new waters as I give you readers my first Top 5 List. This list will count down what DC Comic Book Titles I would like to see be made into television shows. I tried to keep the selection diverse, while also pitching fresh ideas for the comic book genre. So here it is, The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted DC Comic Television Shows.

#5: Hitman

This series features a hired assassin named Tommy Monaghan, who gained superhuman powers during his time as a Marine in the Gulf War. A bite from an alien gave Tommy x-ray vision and telepathy, along with solid black eyes as a side effect. He decides to use these newfound abilities to become a contract killer, specializing in the assassination of supernatural beings. His targets span from superheroes, gods, demons, zombies, dinosaurs and even low-level organizations like the CIA and the Mafia. A show like this could really bring out the lesser known DC characters while also representing a character in this universe who's unlike many others. Plus, Monaghan's scumbag personality can be quite entertaining.

#4: Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is DC Comic's resident Western bounty hunter who roams the Wild West hunting down outlaws and criminals. Hex's upbringing is littered with shifting alignments and physical hardships, this earns him a nasty reputation recognized by his facial scars. An expert gunslinger and brawler, Hex handles his problems violently, but upholds a high moral code. A character like Jonah Hex brings a unique edge to the Comic Book medium, being one the last Western stories. His personality and history lend themselves to be told through enthralling episodes in a series that'd no doubt keep viewers interested. It'd be better than that one movie he had, I'll tell you that.

#3: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

Amethyst used to be a normal teenage girl until she was whisked away to another realm known as Gemworld. Here she learned she was actually the princess of this world and that her royal parents were slain by the evil ruler Dark Opal. With Dark Opal planning on taking over Gemworld, Amethyst sees it as her duty to master swords and sorcery, gather an army of supporters and defeat Dark Opal. The reason I selected this series is because I feel it'd take away the misconceptions that femininity and fantasy are too soft or geared towards little girls. A character like this could inspire young women who don't have a Batman or Iron Man to look up to. Also her universe of mythology would also create a colorful lore for fans of the fantasy genre.

Please Continue to Part 2

The Grumpiest Cat

Everybody love cats. You see them on TV, you see them on your Facebook feed, you see them in your driveway bending your will with their cuteness. But some cats aren't so cute and cuddly, like this week's Z-Lister. Introducing the feline enforcer of the Red Lantern Corps, Dex-Starr.

In 2008's "Final Crisis: Rage of The Red Lanterns #1" readers were introduced to a legion of rage-induced aliens known as The Red Lantern Corps. Not unlike the Green Lanterns, the members of this corps received light constructing Power Rings in honor of their commitment to the emotion the corps represents. Dex-Starr was the first creature from Earth to be worthy of a Red Lantern Power Ring. Dex-Starr was once a kitten named Dexter who was adopted from his litter by a lonely woman. His owner raised him with affection and dependance, telling Dexter how happy she was that he was always there for her. One night, a burglar broke into the woman's apartment and Dexter scratched him in defense of his owner. The burglar's cry of pain woke the woman, but the burglar killed her before she could call for help. The next day, police officers investigated the murder and kicked Dexter out of the apartment worried he'd contaminate the crime scene and unaware of Dexter being the victim's pet. Unable to go back to his home or owner, Dexter became a stray.

For a while Dexter had lived in an alley, sheltered under a cardboard box. Two thugs came along one day and stuffed Dexter into a burlap sack. They planned to throw Dexter off the Brooklyn Bridge and watch him die in amusement. Before the bagged Dexter could hit the water below, he was discovered by a Red Lantern Ring. It appeared that Dexter's rage towards the thugs and his owner's murderer proved himself loyal to the emotion of anger and Dexter was selected to be a member of The Red Lantern Corps. Dexter proceeded to use the power of the ring to kill the thugs and sleep atop their corpses, swearing vengeance upon the man who killed his master. Taking the name Dex-Starr, this ferocious feline is one of the most malicious and sadistic of the Red Lanterns. But, damn it if he isn't the most adorable monster I've ever seen. 

Animals are usually dangerous and instinctual creatures, but like humans they carry basic emotions. Love, sadness, and anger of course. So the concept of an animal's emotions becoming strong enough to earn them the kind of power humans (or human-like beings) can only acquire is inspiring to me. More so this shows the loyalty animals can develop can become deadly to those who threaten their masters. It's the equivalent to a child avenging their mother. But at the end of the day, this is a cat who vomits acidic blood and can survive the vacuum of space. If you're not inspired by this character, you can at least admit how hardcore that sounds. Thanks for reading!

The One-Shot Wonder

Since the first Thor movie, Marvel has released one-hour short movies as bonus content to their films on Blu-Ray DVD. Most of these shorts help flesh out many reoccurring characters like Agent Phil Coulson and Agent Peggy Carter, so in the vain of One-Shot stories giving lesser known characters screen time, I'm pitching a Marvel One-Shot based on Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye.

The reason I'm pitching a Hawkeye One-Shot is because out of the six heroes we've seen in "The Avengers", Hawkeye has the least backstory. While Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Hulk all have movies, Hawkeye's backstory has barely been mentioned. Trailer footage from "Avengers: Age of Ultron" alludes to Black Widow's origin being explored, so Hawkeye would be a logical choice for a One-Shot. What I'm pitching is a one hour origin story for Hawkeye that barrows from his comic origin and ties into this Cinematic Universe. This short would follow Clint Barton and his brother Barney Barton as eighteen-year olds running away from the orphanage they we're never adopted from. These two brothers would join the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders, there they'd be trained in swordplay and archery by circus members Jacques and Buck respectively. While with the circus, Clint would read vintage Captain America comic books depicting Cap's adventures to entertain himself (this'll come in later). After years of training, Clint would become the star circus performer "Hawkeye: The World's Greatest Marksman", wearing the Hawkeye costume from the early comic books. 

Clint would soon discover an undercover thief club within the circus called The Circus of Crime. Barney, Jacques and Buck would pressure Clint into joining the Circus of Crime in committing robberies. One of these robberies would be aimed at a deadly HYDRA weapon being held at a museum in Brooklyn. The Circus of Crime would be intercepted by Director Nick Fury and-newly appointed SHIELD agent-Black Widow. During the confrontation between The Circus of Crime and SHIELD, Hawkeye would turncoat on his brother and the circus and decide to use his talents to prevent crime instead of committing it (See? It came in). Nick Fury would see Clint as another common crook after the robbery is stopped, but Black Widow would vouch for Clint, relating to Clint's troubled past and desire for redemption. From then on Clint would use the codename Hawkeye to work alongside Black Widow and SHIELD and use his skills for the good of others. With his circus costume being a reminder to his corrupt past, Clint would upgrade to his current uniform. And with Hawkeye's evil brother in SHIELD custody, who's to say he can't break out later for a rematch?

Out of all the heroes we've seen in these Marvel movies, I feel Hawkeye is the most underrated. Have you ever asked a kid who his favorite Avenger is and heard him say "that guy with a bow"? Although we don't know where the character of Hawkeye will go after Avengers 2, an origin for the character would make his every step all the more significant. Thanks for reading.

The Man Inside The Monster

The Hulk is usually as a simple character for people to understand. Bruce Banner gets mad, the shirt rips, the pants expand, green muscles protrude and The Hulk has arrived. The actual motive behind The Hulk's transformation is quite different than most think. Let's have a look at the history between Bruce Banner and The Hulk.

Before Bruce was a gamma-radiated scientist, he was the son of atomic physicist Dr. Brian Banner and Rebecca Banner. Bruce's father was an abusive alcoholic who hated Bruce for all the attention he got from Rebecca. The day came when the abusive went too far and Brian killed his wife, Rebecca. Brian was placed in a mental hospital while Bruce was sent to live with his aunt Susan Banner, who tried to raise Bruce with as much love and protection as she could. However, Bruce would still grow up a withdrawn, but intelligent man. Fast forward to Bruce rescuing a teenager from a nuclear test site and being infected with gamma radiation, resulting in Bruce's constant transformations into The Hulk. Or "Hulks", as it were.

What you may not know is that there have been various Hulks that Bruce has become. The usual Hulk is named "The Savage Hulk" and is commonly animalistic, naive, and easily angered. This Hulk's only wish is to be left alone, but being confronted by the U.S. government and various villains have made this Hulk hold grudges fairly easy. "Joe Fixit" is a Gray Hulk who spends his time working as a mob enforcer in Las Vegas. Unlike most Hulks, Joe has an above average intelligence, with a personality showing both cleverness and arrogance. In the recent "AXIS" event, a new Hulk form was born when The Hulk was betrayed by The Avengers. The rejection of his allies created a bloodthirsty transformation called Kluh, described as "The Hulk's Hulk". This Hulk's defeat created the most recent version of the Hulk named "Doc Green". This Hulk is as intelligent as Bruce Banner and sees his human form as an embarrassing setback. Doc Green's goal is to eliminate all other gamma radiated heroes and villains on Earth, included members of the Hulk Family.
The creation of The Hulk wasn't simply a reaction from adrenaline, anger, or radioactivity, as The Hulk's behavior and actions are a reflection of Bruce's abusive father. This psychological torment Bruce suffers from manifests into these various monsters by using his gamma radiated condition. The Hulk's behavior also changes as Bruce's personality adapts throughout his adventures. Whether Bruce is trying to remove The Hulk or control The Hulk, the fact remains that as long as Bruce suffers from his broken childhood, The Hulk will exist. I always considered The Hulk to be a representation of people's restricted anger, but upon learning the complexity of The Hulk's story, I believe The Hulk more represents people's restrain to display emotions. The idea that keeping your emotions inside only results in making a monster out of yourself. Thanks for reading!

Weighing Into Comics

Previously on The Panel Biter, I talked about how many comic book characters suffer from disabilities. What I haven't discussed yet are the few characters in comic books who are overweight. At first glance it would seem most overweight comic book characters are background or supporting characters, but the more fleshed-out heavyset heroes and villains I found might surprise you.

Let's start off with Bouncing Boy, who debuted in 1961's "Action Comics #276". Chuck Taine was an overweight teenager from the 30th Century who had accidentally drank an experimental plastic formula. This formula gave Chuck the ability to inflate his body into a spherical shape. By mastering this power and it's rubber attributes, Chuck turned himself into a lethal force called The Bouncing Boy. Normally a member of The Legion of Superheroes, Chuck has often been cut from the team because his peers thought his powers were too ridiculous. However despite his weight and his ridiculous superpower, Chuck earned respect among The Legion and eventually married one of it's members, Duo Damsel.

Marvel Comics-on the other hand-has a more sinister set of slobbish samaritans. In 1964's "X-Men #3", the heroic band of mutants meet a mutant known as Fred Dukes, better known by his circus name "The Blob". Fred's mutation cursed him with incurable obesity, but also the ability to resist any force pushed on him, this allowed Fred to make money off his circus performance and proclaim himself "The Immovable Object". Professor X and the X-Men tried to recruit The Blob, but Fred's attitude annoyed his fellow X-Men and he saw his circus life as being more beneficial to him. However, Professor X couldn't let Fred leave without wiping his mind of any memory of The X-Men. This resulted in a battle between the X-Men and The Blob at the circus, luckily ending with Professor X erasing the X-Men's existence from Fred and the circus audience's minds. Fred would get these memories back through the mutant terrorist Magneto and join his Brotherhood of Mutants.

Finally we have the most compelling overweight comic book character, Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin. Wilson was once a lower-class boy in New York City who was bullied for his obesity, in retort to this abuse he began physically training himself and using his immense weight as a weapon. With a newfound sense of strength, Wilson bullied his peers into joining his gang until he was discovered by Don Rigoletto, a powerful crime lord. Wilson acted as The Don's bodyguard and assistant, eventually killing The Don and taking his place as The Kingpin of Crime. Throughout his early years The Kingpin had traveled to other countries to set up crime rings, begin his own spice business to gain wealth and return to New York to spark gang wars and take control of organized crime. He would take control of both the terrorist group HYDRA and the assassin guild known as The Hand. New York vigilantes like Spider-Man, The Punisher and Daredevil would go up against The Kingpin, and he'd even come to blows with Captain America.

Character like these may differ in how they use their obesity, but they share a common theme in that their weight never came off as a weakness, but more of a motivator. None of these three have ever considered losing their weight, they instead embrace their physical appearance and focus on other tasks like saving lives, performing, and building empires. Speaking as an overweight person myself, I've always felt that one's appearance is their own subject to change. If you don't like what you look like you should change it, if you're comfortable with the way you are then stay the way you are, but don't let other people make your choices. At any rate, don't doubt yourself for your appearance, rather you should use it to your advantage. Thanks for reading!

A Pre-Man's Best Friend

Often comic books attempt to rewrite history through fictional war heroes or alien ancestors, in this case Marvel Comics took a step back in time to provide us with a pair of prehistoric adventurers. This week's Z-Listers are Moon-Boy & Devil Dinosaur.

Back in the dawn of civilization there existed a tribe of ape-like humans called The Small Folk. Moon-Boy was a member of this tribe and partook in hunting and gathering. One day, Moon-Boy had stumbled upon a tyrannosaurus-rex and it's three children being tormented by a rival tribe called The Killer Folk. These savages killed the T-rex and two of her babies, they then used torches to burn the last baby to death. The Killer Folk wandered off believing the scorched-red dinosaur to be dead, but he had actually survived the assault and was taken in by Moon-Boy who named him Devil. The Small Folk did not want Moon-Boy to raise Devil Dinosaur on their land, so in loyalty to his new companion Moon-Boy left his tribe with Devil Dinosaur.

Devil Dinosaur would grow into a large and extremely intelligent creature, loyal only to Moon-Boy. Their travels would have them encounter alien beings, fallen angels and even Marvel Comic's version of Godzilla. Eventually they would find themselves in a place unchanged by time, The Savage Lands. When this peaceful reservoir of the past was invaded by The Roxxon Oil Company, Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur joined Ruler Ka-Zar's army to defend The Savage Lands. After these events, Moon-Boy was captured by a group of mercenaries and held by SHIELD for genetic studies. Without his friend, Devil Dinosaur had become depressed and refused to hunt or eat. A human-like dinosaur named Stegron left The Savage Lands and waged war on SHIELD with his dinosaur army in order to rescue Moon-Boy and save Devil Dinosaur. Although his army was defeated, a young hero named Reptil learned of Stegron's motives and helped smuggle Moon-Boy out of SHIELD custody, reuniting Moon-Boy with Devil Dinosaur.

It is quite admirable that Moon-Boy would care so much about a creature's well being that he'd give up his own home to assure it's safety. A creature who by himself could rip Moon-Boy and his tribe to sheds, mind you. It really does come down to the friendship between master and pet, man and beast, monkey and dinosaur. I kind of winged that last example, but these two present a lot of potential in both morals and stories, I can only hope to see Marvel do more with this duo. After all, you're not going to find a pair like this anywhere else. Until the eventual Land Before Time 22, of course. Thanks for reading! Check out The Panel Biter on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/ThePanelBiter

Everyone Has A Hero

To the public eye superheroes are seen as perfect people, non-relatable characters who's powers, life styles and adventures make it difficult for people to see themselves as. Delving deeper some would see that superheroes are not just catered to the straight white male, as heroes of different races, countries, religions, genders and sexual orientations have been conceived since the 50's. But there are another group of heroes the public doesn't take notice of, heroes who relate to those not as capable as most. These are the disabled superheroes.

One of the earliest superheroes with a disability is the vigilante Daredevil who fought crime despite being blind. DC Comics created a blind superhero known as Doctor Mid-Nite, a former surgeon who lost his sight in an explosion, causing him to be permanently nocturnal. SHIELD Director Nick Fury-and coincidently his son, Nick Fury Jr-both lack their left eye, making them partially blind. Deafness is a disability that has also been tackled as the Avenger Hawkeye has used a hearing aid twice in his career to make up for his occasional loss of hearing. In fact, Marvel Comics created a child superhero named Blue Ear in an effort to show deaf kids there was no shame in wearing a hearing aid. A member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight known as Puck happens to be a little-person. Several mute characters in comics include The Inhuman Black Bolt, Legion of Superheroes founder Saturn Girl, and the third-also my personal favorite-Batgirl Cassandra Cain. Among other teenage superheroes with shortcomings, Mia Dearden-the second Speedy and sidekick to Green Arrow-is HIV-positive due to her imprisonment in a child prostitution ring. Captain Marvel's sidekick-Captain Marvel Jr-had a lame leg and was forced to use a crutch when he wasn't in his superhero form. Peter Parker's high school bully Flash Thompson had lost his legs in the military and has been seen using both prosthetic legs and a wheelchair. His time in the military turned him into a better friend to Peter and also won him control over the Venom Symbiot, allowing him to become the superhero Agent Venom. On the subject of wheelchairs, the second and most well known Batgirl-Barbara Gordon-was crippled and put into a wheelchair for 22 years in comic history. During this time she took the codename Oracle and provided support to The Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad and The Batman Family. As Oracle she still took part in combat, but mostly did her best to provide her allies with behind-the-scenes intelligence. Circling back to the earliest paraplegic hero in comic books we have Professor Charles Xavier, founder of The X-Men. Charles was crippled during his travels in the Himalayas, forcing him to live the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Sometimes a hovering wheelchair. Also, although it seems minor capered to his condition, Charles Xavier's mutant powers became so strong they caused him to go bald. Forever.

All good comic book characters have something someone can relate to. No matter who you might be or how different you are, there exists a superhero who was created because of people like you. Because writers understand everyone is different, some people don't have the capabilities others have, and to keep the idolization of superheroes away from those people because of something they lack or something they are only builds more walls between people. I applaud any writer who can create a character for disabled youths to admire, because it is through these costumed crime fighters that those children find hope. Thank you for reading.

Reptile's Advocate

I don't know about you readers, but I happen to be a 90's kid. Growing up in the 90's I was exposed to such shows like The Power Rangers, the Pokemon anime and, of course, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and-my favorite-Raphael. Needless to say, I caught a lot of flack in elementary school for having a turtle's name. While these adolescent shell-heads became my point of interest, there was one piece of TMNT lore I never knew for years. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were actually the result of Marvel's Man Without Fear, Daredevil.

While it isn't official, the 1984 origin of the Turtles alludes to the origin of the Marvel superhero Daredevil. We all know the Turtles were mutated from radioactive chemicals, but where did the chemicals come from and how did the Turtles end up rolling around in it? Well, it just so happens when Matt Murdock-Daredevil-was a young man his eyes were exposed to chemicals that fell off an oncoming truck. These chemicals not only blinded him, but they modified his other senses to superhuman levels. What also fell off the truck was a container of chemical ooze that'd hit a fishbowl of turtles out of a bystander's arms. These turtles fell into sewer along with the chemical container and what followed was the creation of four mutated turtles. These Turtles were raised by a martial artist rat who had also been mutated from the chemicals. This rat named Splinter was a reference to Daredevil's martial arts mentor, Stick. Contrary to all of this, the ties between Daredevil and The TMNT are not official as the TMNT are not part of the Marvel Universe. So what's the truth behind the connection? Well, the TMNT's comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird intended for the first issue to be a parody of many popular 80's comics. The turtles' status as teenage mutants was taken from The New Mutants, the concept of them being animals came from Dave Sim's Cerebus and their ninjutsu fighting style was inspired by Frank Miller's Ronin and Daredevil, of course. So the reference to Daredevil's past was just a respectful nod to the Turtle's inspiration. An additional nod to Daredevil comes in the form of the Turtles' main antagonists The Foot Clan, a parody of Daredevil's enemy ninja group known as The Hand. Luckily, the connection between the two comics isn't too thick as The Turtles never went through an awkward "yellow suit" phase and Daredevil never danced to Vanilla Ice.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" I always loved that quote and for this cross-comic connections it couldn't fit more perfectly. It's amazing to think that a comic like this-starring martial artist turtles the size of humans-could launch a pop culture franchise which has produced cartoons, video games and movies for every generation to come. All because of successful comics like Daredevil, which pushed the concept of vigilantism to unexplored roads. I can't help but wonder though, if this origin were to be official would that mean TMNT is part of the Marvel Universe? And to that end could The Power Rangers Universe be connected as well seeing as how the Turtles and the Rangers have teamed up before? Calling it now, Green Ranger's Dragonzord vs ROM the Space Knight in Guardians of the Galaxy 3! Thanks for reading!

#TMNTMMPRRSKDDGOTG3

Larvis Arescet (Masks Wither)

A character within DC Comics who's morals and methods have always interested me is the Batman adversary known as Bane. Since his creation, Bane has remained a character capable of much more than breaking Batman. His intelligence and perseverance has set him on a different shelf than the like of The Joker, Scarecrow and many others. That's why for this Pitch-It, I will be presenting my idea for a the mini series: Bane: Larvis Arescet.

There are things about Bane most people don't know, things not presented through his botched representation in The Dark Knight Rises. While Bane is one of the few villains to defeat Batman in their first encounter, Bane has actually gained a large respect for The Dark Knight. After their first battle, the two of them have teamed up and even saved each others lives. Bane was made aware of Batman's identity, gave Dick Grayson-the first Robin-a religious blessing and for time yearned to adopt the Batman mantle. And yes, Bane is quiet the religious fanatic as he's been taken in by priests and has felt remorse over his sins. In more recent events, Bane has actually taken up the Batman mantle during "Forever Evil". For this book, Bane's motivation would be his desire to regain the power and respect he held as Batman without imitating his adversary. To do this, Bane attempts to rid himself of the steroid Venom, train himself to the peak of human strength and take on the criminal underground. Bane wouldn't be heroic, and he wouldn't be villainous, he'd be threatening. Bane would be the type of guy who'd give a drug dealer's kids some movie tickets so they wouldn't see the beating their father would receive from Bane. He would travel all over the world busting crime organizations apart. Cuban drug cartels, middle eastern weapon dealers, Soviet computer hackers, you name it. Along the way Bane would make admiring allies, competent rivals and numerous victims. He wouldn't resort to killing these criminals either, Batman doesn't kill and he defeated Bane, so by Bane's logic that self-control is what gives Batman an edge. Unexpectedly, Bane would have acquired more of reputation than he'd thought, becoming the bounty target of DC assassins like Deathstroke, Deadshot, and The League of Assassins. Additionally, some of Bane's criminal soldiers from the Santa Prisca prison would attempt to take Bane's title by donning their own Bane costumes and using the Venom steroid. Not only would these challenges push Bane to his mortal limits, but they'd force him to come to terms with the monster he used to be. This would also prompt Bane to be more religiously aware, hoping his commitment to The Lord to further his redemption. For the entirety of this book Batman's face would never be seen, not through mental imagery or physical appearance. Bane would even refuse to call Batman by his true name, as it is only The Batman Bane wishes to overcome. Through his weakest moment, Bane would realize it was never Batman he was trying to prove himself superior to, it was his own failures as a warrior-as a man-that'd he wish to conquer. And by renouncing his obsession with Batman's defeat and accepting himself as Bane, he'd be able to serve God's Earth not as it's breaker, but as its guardian.

I've always thought the best thing about Bane was how inverted the character was, on the surface he looked like a masked wrestler with a chemical booster implanted into his skin, but as I came to understand him I saw Bane had depth to him, a sense of honor and symbolism. Bane doesn't do things for his own benefit, he does things because he believes in the idea of destiny and birthright. To have Bane become Batman may seem like an interesting angle, but without his craving to be Batman or to defeat Batman, and to simply learn from encounters with Batman, an intelligent and religious man like Bane might see these encounters as a sign. A sign that while he may not be able to replicate Batman, he could use his abilities for a greater purpose like his adversary. Not because he wants to be like him, but because he knows he'd be a better man by doing so. Thanks for reading.

Avengers Disassembled

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is virtually unstoppable at this point, not only have they made Captain America and Iron Man household names, but they've managed to make lesser known heroes like The Guardians of the Galaxy relevant. But as great as the MCU might be, it's sadly incomplete without three superhero properties. Properties you may know from a different source. Today I'll explain why The X-Men, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four cannot be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The beginning of our Marvel movie-verse began in 2008 with the first Iron Man movie, this film came long after other Marvel movies like X-Men, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four which all premiered in 2000, 2002, and 2005 respectively. You see Marvel sold the rights to make a movie out of these comics back then before the idea of a shared universe was ever conceived. For example, the rights to make X-Men movies belongs to 20th Century Fox, as long as Fox keeps making X-Men films every couple of years the rights will remain theirs and Marvel Studios/Disney-the coupled company that makes the MCU films-will not be legally allowed to produce X-Men movies. Despite it being eight years since the last Fantastic Four film, Fox still owns the rights to that franchise as well because they are scheduling a reboot of the Fantastic Four for 2015. Spider-Man is where it gets complicated because with Spider-Man 3 being critically disliked Sony Pictures-who have had the movie rights to Spider-Man since 2002-rebooted the franchise with "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2012. With the X-Men movies earning their own movie universe separate from the MCU, series like Fantastic Four and Spider-Man would benefit from being more connected to other franchises. The reason these franchises suffer from reboots and rushed sequels is because Fox and Sony want to hang on to the movie rights as long as possible. Most likely to keep Marvel Studios/Disney from making more money off of the FF's and Spider-Man's inclusion into their successful movie universe. Disney and Marvel are all ready making more money than they ever have, so being able to use the full library of Marvel Comic's history would only skyrocket them over 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures. Although Fox is doing decently in the superhero movie department, Sony is reaching its end as "Amazing Spider-Man 2" is considered the worst movie of the franchise. Through the recent leaks of Sony's private files, it's been revealed Sony and Marvel/Disney almost reached a deal to share the Spider-Man movie franchise, but this deal possibly fell through. To simply put it, characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man will not be joining The Avengers anytime soon. Villains like Doctor Doom, Magneto and Galactus won't be challenging Marvel's mightiest heroes. As great as these divided movie franchises may be, Marvel as whole will be unable to promote the full potential of their universe.

It does sadden me that fleshed out characters like Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic can never match wits, how Wolverine and Captain America can never share war stories or how Spider-Man can never call Black Widow out for stealing his arachnid-motif. But there is always some hope, comic books have been known to go back on their word and change the natural order of things. Maybe in the future-if Marvel/Disney doesn't get these movie rights back-these three companies can bury the hatchet and realize they could all make oodles and boodles of cash by sharing their toys. And if even one of you asks "Where's Batman" at the Avengers 2 premier, I will personally send you into Dimension X with my Necroplasmic blasts faster than you could say "Anung Un Rama". Thanks for reading!

Giant Robots and You

Here's a conversation starter, next time you're with your parents ask them what kind of toys they had growing up. You might hear He-Man, or Transformers, or maybe G.I. Joe. But I can assure you, one toy brand you'll never hear pour out of your pappy's pie hole is a little metal man with his own comic book named ROM, The Space Knight.

ROM the Space Knight was originally a toy created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy. This 6-inch tall plastic light-up toy was packed with three attachable weapons and sold by The Parker Brothers toy company. To get this toy more publicity, The Parker Brothers licensed the character to Marvel Comics to create a comic book series based on ROM. "ROM #1" was released in 1979. Coincidently, 1979 also debuted Mobile Suit Gundam, the first of many Japanese cartoons about robotic warriors. ROM was once a man who lived on a utopian planet called Galador which was attacked by a magic race of shape-shifters known as The Dire Wraiths. In order to protect his planet, ROM was the first citizen to volunteer for The Space Knight Program. Several body parts were removed from ROM in order to accommodate his new robotic armor. ROM was given the Galador's greatest weapon The Neutralizer, a laser that-rather than killing The Dire Wraiths-would banish them to a small dimension called Limbo. Inspired by ROM's battle against The Dire Wraiths, 1,000 other Galador citizens volunteered to become Space Knights. Not satisfied with just fending the invaders off, ROM personally attacked The Dire Wraiths' planet Wraithworld. However, the Wraiths were able to escape ROM and scatter throughout the universe. Feeling responsible for the escape of these genocidal aliens, ROM took it upon himself to find and destroy every last Dire Wraith. His adventures would take him to Earth were he would make few friends and many enemies. As any Wraith on Earth would take the appearance of a human and ROM's Neutralizer would zap the Wraiths into another dimension, ROM was seen by the public as a killer  robot. ROM had super strength, regenerative armor, flight, and the ability to summon his weapons from subspace. His tools included The Neutralizer, a Dire Wraith-detecting Analyzer and a Universal Translator. He would have confrontations with The Fantastic Four, The X-Men and The Avengers. Since his debut, ROM the Space Knight would have adventures up until 2001, where he was presumed dead, but The Space Knight mantle would continue on through the rest of The Space Knight Corps.

While his toy did poorly on the market-becoming more of a collectable nowadays-ROM's comic book did better than most people expected. He had his own cast of characters, a small rogues gallery and a handful of interactions with Marvel's heroes and villains. ROM is considered one of Marvel's classic cosmic heroes and his backstory surprised me with it's detail. As far as giant robots go, ROM is defiantly in my Top 10 along with Voltron, Megas XLR and The Thunderzord, of course. And with the kind of attention Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has gotten lately, I wouldn't be surprised if we one day see ROM the Space Knight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thanks for reading!

#ROM4GOTG3!

Small Legacies

Marvel Studios released the first trailer for The Ant-Man movie last night. This take on Ant-Man is bound to have staggering differences, the first being the man presented as the Ant-Man we'll be following in the movie is the second person to take the mantle. The first Ant-Man was Hank Pym, as he'll be played to be more of a mentor in the movie, I thought I'd sit down and tell you readers how Marvel Comic's Hank Pym gained his complicated reputation.

Hank Pym first appeared in "Tales to Astonish #35" in 1962 as a biochemist who discovers subatomic particles and names them Pym Particles. Experimenting with these particles, Pym accidentally shrinks himself to the size of an insect. At this size he found a fascination with this smaller world and the creatures inhabiting it. When he returns to human size Pym designs a helmet to communicate with the ants he encountered during his adventures and dons the superhero persona, Ant-Man. During his early years, Pym meets a woman named Janet Van Dyne and gives her similar superpowers to avenge her father's death. Janet becomes The Wasp and begins a relationship with Pym, the two of them go on to be founding members of The Avengers. Pym changes his superhero identity to Giant-Man after he learns his Pym Particles could increase his size, as well. He also creates this 12-foot tall alter-ego out of insecurity as fellow Avengers like Thor and Hulk were recognized for their strength. For a time Pym had become stuck in his giant form and had taken the new name Goliath. Once this wore off, Pym decided to create a robot he called Ultron. Unfortunately, Ultron becomes sentient and deems human life dangerous to the Earth. Ultron would continue to be one of The Avengers' greatest enemies and one of Pym's greatest mistakes. Following that came a mishap when Pym was injured during one of his experiments, this caused him to develop a second psyche called Yellowjacket. The personality-altered Pym went to The Avengers as Yellowjacket cocky, confident and claiming to have disposed of Hank Pym. Although Pym's mind would revert back to normal, his invention Ultron would further torture his life by wiping his memory once more. This resulted in Pym attacking The Avengers because he did not recognize the team's members. When he rejoins the Avengers he is shown to be hostile towards his wife Janet/Wasp and unnecessarily brutal to criminals, this causes Captain America to suspend Hank Pym from his superhero duties. Hoping to redeem himself in the eyes of his peers, Pym designs a new robot called Salvation-1 and plans to have it attack The Avengers. By exploiting his robot's predesigned weakness Pym would show The Avengers he was still a capable hero. After Janet discovers this plan, she attempts to stop Pym which causes the darkest moment in Ant-Man history as Hank Pym strikes his wife. Salvation-1 attacks The Avengers, but it is actually Janet who defeats it. Janet divorces Hank Pym and Pym is kicked out of The Avengers. The coming decades would have Pym descend into insanity, land himself in prison, redeem himself by tutoring young heroes and rekindling his relationship with Janet Van Dyne. While Pym would occasionally cycle through his superhero identities, it would be his first mantle of Ant-Man that he'd pass on to another man trying to redeem himself, Scott Lang. Today, Hank Pym continues to help The Avengers. Sometimes as Yellowjacket, sometimes as Giant-Man, but always as Hank Pym, Scientist Supreme.

The story of Hank Pym is littered with both minimal changes and monumental failures, always resulting in Pym making up for his downfalls again and again. While he may not be the biggest superhero-figuritvly and literally-Pym holds a legacy among The Marvel Universe. Not for his scatterbrained superhero identities, but for his rise from madness. Thanks for reading!

Check out the Ant-Man trailer here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xInh3VhAWs8

The Super Friends

What's more entertaining than watching a team of superheroes work together to save the world? Well, how about five drastically different super-people and a pair of twins trying to stop an inter-dimensional trickster the size of a barstool for leveling a K-Mart? The first Pitch-It of the new year is upon us with my personal fanfare of fun, as today I'm pitching The Super Friends.

Initially, this team book was simply me putting some of my favorite characters in one book, but what it turned into was a satire on the super-team genre. The team is comprised of varying characters who's recent adventures leave them free time to on this team. There's Plastic Man, a mostly comedic superhero who's gone severely underused recently. Etrigan the Demon, a creature from Hell who-for the sake of continuity-shares his body with a reincarnated knight. Power Girl, Superman's cousin from another dimension. Harley Quinn, that chick all the woman cosplay as at comic conventions. Lil' Lobo, the regrown remains of an alien bounty hunter. And The Wonder Twins, this time around being two teenage siblings who run a superhero fan-club. How could such different people unite to be Earth's protectors? Well, the premise of this hypothetical book would have The Justice League leave the galaxy on some interstellar rescue mission to recover one of their teammates, but rather than follow their space adventures we'd watch the happy-go-lucky hero Plastic Man attempt to found a replacement Justice League. After putting out some ads Plastic Man gets few volunteers, until two teenagers named Marvin and Wendy show up to join his group. Plastic Man reluctantly lets the powerless twins join him as he attempts to put out a forest fire lit by a mysterious meteor. Meeting them there we meet Power Girl and Harley Quinn, who've recently teamed up in the comics and are trying to save civilians. When Etrigan the Demon comes to stop the fire, our heroes assume he was the cause. Their fight with the demon comes to a stop as they discover the fire was actually caused by the crashed ship of Lil' Lobo who seems to be suffering from galactic road rage. Promised a reward for his efforts, Lil' Lobo helps the heroes put out the fire and they are seen as heroes by the public. They are christened The Super Friends by the twins. This team's adventures would include fighting a acid-blooded cat at a space mall, battling The Panel Biter's resident freak show Animal-Vegetable-Mineral-Man, and duking it out with The Super Friends of 3001. As far as dynamics go I'd play Plastic Man up to be stoic wannabe hero who's constantly fighting his greedy, more sleazy impulses. Power Girl would be the most level-headed and hot-headed of the bunch, contrasting with Harley Quinn's sadistic and unpredictable episodes. Etrigan would be snarky, intimidating and the least likely to read a children's book to a kindergarden class despite his dialogue being written in rhyme. Lil' Lobo would be immature and selfish, too stubborn to admit he needs The Super Friends to get his reputation back as the baddest mercenary in the galaxy. The twins would start out as the team's spunky mascots, but eventually they'd become the shapeshifting duo, The Wonder Twins. Additionally, we'd see Plastic Man's best buddy Woozy Winks as the group's unpaid intern. Guest appearances from DC's various heroes and villains would also be a frequent inclusion into the series.

Essentially, this book doesn't require these characters nor the premise. What I'd want from a book like this would be light hearted romps because it's a book like this that the comic industry needs right now. I'm all up for action, suspense and mystery, but even I can admit some comic books are too damn dreary. It's become illegal to have Batman smile! That's why a comedic team book like this could really benefit the reading audience as it offers a break from the gritty and violent to present readers with something that'd make them laugh out loud. Thanks for reading!

The Armor's Blueprints

Today The Panel Biter is introducing a new segment to further celebrate the new year, it's called Beyond The Screen. For this segment I will be taking various comic book movies, ripping them open and sharing all their trivial inners with you, my hungry readers. Starting with The Iron Man Trilogy.

Before we look over the first movie, lets start things off with it's earlier versions. These scripts were first conceived back in 1990 and an early draft featured Tom Cruise as Tony Stark/Iron Man with an armor that featured revealed abs and a glass faceplate to show Cruise's face 24/7. Another version of this script had Tony Stark's father Howard Stark not only living, but as the main villain of the movie by using the War Machine armor. This script would have also tied into Spider-Man 2 by insinuating that Doctor Octopus' arms were created by Tony Stark. Getting into the actual movie, it's director Jon Favreau had to literally reconstruct the script while making the movie. This led to Favreau and Robert Downey Jr improvising a majority of scenes and lines for the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow had requested Marvel to send her comic books that'd better help her understand her character Pepper Potts, Jeff Bridges also did the same in preparation for his role as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger. Tony Stark's computer system JARVIS was originally his butler in the main comics. The decision to convert Jarvis into a computer system was out of worry that viewers would compare him to Batman's butler, Alfred. While Agent Phil Couslon would go on to have a bigger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his role in Iron Man 1 was meant to be smaller, with early casting sheets credit Coulson's actor Clark Gregg as "Agent". While Stan Lee based Tony Stark/Iron Man off of Howard Hughes in the 60's, Favreau's inspiration behind Tony's movie characterization was drawn from J. Robert Oppenheimer. Sam Rockwell was one of the many actors in the running to play Tony Stark in Iron Man 1. While RDJ got the part, Rockwell was given a role by Favreau to play Justin Hammer-an anti Tony Stark-in Iron Man 2. James Rhodes/Rhodey/War Machine/Iron Patriot was originally played by Terrence Howard in Iron Man 1, but was dropped from franchise after a payment dispute with Marvel Studios and was replaced by Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2. Mickey Rourke was cast as Ivan Vanko, to prepare for his role Rourke learned Russian, payed out of pocket for the character's cosmetics and even visited a Moscow prison to understand his role better. Ivan Vanko became the villain Whiplash in Iron Man 2, but his character was actually written as an combination of three different Iron Man villains: Whiplash, Backlash and Crimson Dynamo. Iron Man 3 included more reconstructions of the source material starting with The Iron Patriot. In the comics, The Iron Patriot was a persona taken up by Norman Osborn, the former Green Goblin. There is a scene in Iron Man 3 where Tony forms his armor around Pepper Potts to protect her, Potts' brief use of the Iron Man armor is a callback to Potts having her own armor in the comics called The Rescue Armor. The three main Extremis patients of Iron Man 3 are based off minor Marvel villains: Coldblood, Firepower and Ellen Brandt. Although The Mandarin doesn't appear until Iron Man 3, he maintains a presence in the previous movies. His terrorist organization The Ten Rings are the group who kidnapped Tony in Iron Man 1. The man who gave Ivan Vanko his U.S. citizenship papers in Iron Man 2 was a member of The Ten Rings. The comics presented The Mandarin as an Asian megalomaniac who possesses ten alien rings. It was also in the original comics that Tony was held hostage by Vietnamese terrorists. For the Iron Man trilogy the Mandarin and his terrorist group were updated to be middle eastern to keep the movies modern.
While Iron Man may be popular now, it is surprising just how many changes from the comics and the early scripts were needed to make the movies a success. They aren't perfect, as Iron Man 2 had a lot of demands from Marvel Studios resulting in Favreau refusing to direct Iron Man 3. The third movie caught some flack because of what was done to The Mandarin. I could state my two cents, but my opinion of The Mandarin can wait for another day. Until then, I hope this Beyond The Screen gave you readers an idea of how thought out these movies can be. Thanks for reading!

You Think This "A" Stands For France?

Out of all the Avengers, Captain America remains one of my favorites. Steve Rogers is an outstanding citizen who stands to show just how proud and strong our country can be. But aside from the "Super-Soldier Serum", there is one other questionable about The Sentinel of Justice. He's Captain America, but is he exclusive to America? Today we'll be looking into Captain America's international notoriety.

Steve Rogers grew up in the 1940's, when World War II was beginning and the patriotism of the American people was being tested. Although he wasn't physically cut out for the Army, Rogers did his best to join out of love for his country. It was because of Rogers' indomitable will that he earned the right to volunteer for the Super-Soldier project and walk out a new man, Captain America. In 1945 Captain America became frozen in ice and thought dead after his battle with the evil Baron Zemo, what proceeded were several attempts by the government to replace Captain America. During the 1950's confrontation against Communism, three successors rose to be Captain America, the most notable being a man named William Burnside. William was a history graduate who idolized the original Cap so much he had undergone facial reconstructive surgery and changed his name to Steve Rogers out of admiration. William had subjected himself to a flawed copy of the Super-Soldier serum, resulting in his eventual insanity as he started believing regular citizens to be Communist sympathizers. William was placed under cryogenic sleep and decades later The Avengers would stumble upon the original Captain America frozen in ice. This little history lesson shows that the strength to fight for America and the compassion to protect it, are two different things. Rogers wasn't just the only successful Super-Soldier because of the proper experimentation, he was perfect because his heart was in the right place. As Rogers' life went on in modern times, the transition from saving his country to saving his planet was natural because Rogers wasn't against foreign relations, he was against bullying. Fighting soldiers and fighting aliens all depended on the context. Not only has Rogers shown commitment to protecting any and all countries, but he also shown enough respect to each country to learn about their society, language, beliefs and martial arts. Despite his namesake, Captain America is a very intercontinental character. So why continue going by Captain America in the modern day? It's out probably of respect for his early adventures, plus the name has a ring to it. Besides, I think Captain Planet is trademarked.

When the first Captain America film was released, there was a worry that other countries wouldn't respond well to such an country-specific character, but it was through Steve Rogers' characterization that Captain America was seen as so much more than a walking flag, he was a symbol of pride, righteousness and dedication to the common people. And if all that hasn't convinced you Captain America isn't America-exclusive, consider these facts: Rogers' parents were Irish Immigrants, his two best friends are African-American and Russian, and the first women he ever kissed was British. Thanks for reading! Check out The Panel Biters new Facebook Page!

https://www.facebook.com/ThePanelBiter

The Superior Spider-Show (Part 2)

With Spider-Man's current show being such a stain on his mostly successful animated career, you're probably wondering what made his previous cartoon so much better. Well don't worry, because for this Recommendation I'm going to tell you readers what makes this Spider-Man show superior. Here's our first Recommendation of 2015, The Spectacular Spider-Man!

First premiering in 2008, The Spectacular Spider-Man was created by Greg Weisman. Set three months after Peter Parker became Spider-Man, Peter is just starting his Junior year of High School. The show often revolves around Peter juggling his responsibilities as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man, often having to make sacrifices to personal life to uphold his duty as a hero. The show does a great job characterizing Peter Parker (voiced by Josh Keaton) as a highly intelligent, but socially clumsy teenager. As the show progresses, Peter makes new friends, gains more confidence and becomes a more experienced superhero. Spider-Man's various villains not only receive cosmetic revamps, but also streamlined backstories to better tie them into the overall setting. While other Marvel heroes don't appear in this show, the diverse cast of characters makes this fictional New York feel more expansive. You have your flashy super-villains like Electro and Mysterio, but then you have more down-to-earth mobsters like Silvermane and Tombstone. Spider-Man's greatest villains like Green Goblin and Venom are presented to have more personal relations to Peter Parker before they ever become his enemies. Weisman described the structure of the show to be presented as "The Education of Peter Parker". The first season's story arcs are based on Biology, Economics, Chemistry, and Psychology. This formula is repeated in season two through Engineering, Human Development, Criminology and Drama. I mentioned during my review of Ultimate Spider-Man that three themes are important to any Spider-Man adaptation: Comedy, Responsibility and Action. As mentioned, Responsibility is given heavy attention in Spectacular Spider-Man with every decision Peter making having repercussions. In an early episode, Peter gets a job taking pictures of Spider-Man for The Daily Bugle. After his first pay check, Peter must decide whether to use the money to support his Aunt May or to spend the money on a better camera. This is one example of Peter's constant struggle with his responsibilities, not even counting how many times Peter would have to ignore a favor or task to stop crime. The action of the show is fluid and well fit to it's type of art style, often presenting fight scenes that are both vivid and exciting, while also having effect behind them. When Spider-Man is knocked around like a hackey-sack by The Sinister Six, you feel every ounce of pain he feels simply by watching the expressions on his mask and the fantastic voice work of Keaton. Speaking of which, Keaton nails Spider-Man's comedy perfectly. Unlike Ultimate Spider-Man's hand feeding attempts to spark a snicker, Spectacular Spider-Man uses the character's natural sense of humor to entertain the viewers. Spider-Man is presented as being upbeat, sarcastic and clever, like Bugs Bunny is red tights. He teases his villains and makes quick snarky comments that aren't seen as mean because Peter isn't as harsh when he's outside the suit. With these themes, the show balances the lore of Spider-Man perfectly.

The show was cancelled after two seasons when relations between Marvel/Disney and Sony began to crumble. The third season would have included characters like Hobgoblin, Carnage and Scorpion, but Spectacular Spider-Man was replaced by Ultimate Spider-Man before we could see these characters realized. The show is still on Netflix, DVD and online sources if you're interested. If you want a good Spider-Man story outside the comics or something to enjoy with the kids, this is hands down the best on-screen presentation of the character. Thanks for reading!