Invisible Facts

Are you a fan of Susan Storm? Well, we got One Dozen Invisible Woman Facts!

1. Susan's original superpower was just turning herself invisible. This power was inspired by the story "The Invisible Man", to a point where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby almost wrote it so she'd have to remove her clothing first. This was replicated for the 2005 "Fantastic Four" film where Jessica Alba had to get undressed before turning invisible, for comedic effect.

2. It was not until #22 of "Fantastic Four" that Sue could cloak objects/people and create psionic invisible force fields. As time went on these fields became more and more elaborate. Going from basic walls and bubbles to platforms, stairs, and entire structures like a jungle gym. Sue can manipulate the placement of these objects as well, giving her the ability to fly by moving an invisible surface underneath her through the air.

3. Susan and Johnny Storm were the children of Franklin and Mary Storm. Franklin was a doctor, and one night he and his wife were out on a drive while Sue and Johnny were being babysat. On this drive a tire blew out and caused a car accident that injured Mary. Frank tried to operate on his wife to save her, but failed. Following this came an addiction to alcohol and gambling that landed Frank in prison. This left Susan to take a more parental role for her younger brother, establishing her as a natural caregiver. Frank would die trying to save the Fantastic Four from a Skrull attack.

4. It was not until the mid-1980's that Susan changed her name to "The Invisible Woman". During the 1990's-while her teammates remained the same-Susan got a redesigned costume revealing her thighs, midriff, and cleavage via a cut-out of the Fantastic Four logo.

5. Susan and Reed Richards' official wedding was in 1965, four years after their creation. Their wedding included people from across the superhero community like The X-Men, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, and received news coverage by J. Jonah Jameson and Peter Parker. This was the first marriage published by Marvel Comics.

6. Susan is also the first female superhero to mother a child. Her first born was Franklin Richards-named after her father. Franklin was born as an Omega-Level Mutant, meaning his mutation is extremely powerful. Franklin can alter reality to his whim. He's changed the course of history and created pocket universe. In the 1990's after "The Onslaught Saga" he created a universe called "Heroes Reborn" which was Marvel's attempt at imitating Image Comic's style of superheroes using redesigned versions of classic Marvel heroes.

7. Susan's daughter Valeria was born under complicated circumstances. She first appeared as a grown woman from the future, claiming to be the daughter of Susan and Doctor Doom-one of the many villains who sought Susan's love. It was revealed Valeria was a miscarriage and that Franklin used his powers to save her life and transport her to a universe where Susan and a heroic Doctor Doom could raise her. After she gave her life to save the Earth, she was reconstituted as a fetus within Susan. With only minutes until her rebirth and with Reed busy with cosmic events, Johnny Storm had to call Doctor Doom to deliver the baby. In return for this he insisted on naming her after a woman he loved when he was young. He also used a spell to make her his Familiar Spirit.

8. Susan's third love interest was Namor The Sub-Mariner, Marvel Comic's earliest superpowered character. Throughout the years she and Namor have had relations, though she always chooses her family over a life as the queen of Atlantis. Their encounters have spun from Reed faking his death to marital disagreements, but eventually even Namor saw the seriousness of Reed and Sue's relationship. In the mid-2000's when Reed and Namor were part of The Illuminati, Namor would privately talk to Reed about Susan and how to make their relationship work.

9. During "Civil War", Johnny Storm was beaten in a nightclub with motivated Susan to join Captain America's side rejecting the government's control on superheroes. Her husband remained on Iron Man's side, but tried to end the conflict peacefully after she left him a heartfelt note. Following this event Susan and Reed took some time off to fix their relationship (again) while Black Panther and Storm took their place on The Fantastic Four.

10. Susan once developed an alternate personality after a battle with Psycho-Man. This personality was named Malice, as it was a cultivation of all of Sue's negative emotions. When Malice took over Susan's body and tried to kill her family, Franklin Richards aged himself into an adult hero named Psi-Lord and used his powers to seal Malice away in his own mind, and then seal her away in the mind of an evil alternate universe version of Reed who had died in The Negative Zone. An alternate future version of Susan from 500 years in the future had once came back to the present, used the name Tabitha, started a future-saving organization and managed to capture The Human Torch, Doctor Doom, and Galactus in attempt to siphon their energy to save the future. The Fantastic Four were able to find a solution for the alternate future, but upon releasing Doctor Doom the future Susan was electrocuted.

11. Along with being a founding member of The Fantastic Four, Susan has also been a member of their spin-off organization The Future Foundation, she was a member of The Avengers with her husband, she was part of Valkyrie's Lady Liberators and Carol Danver's A-Force, and she has been an operative on several SHIELD missions behind her husband's back.

12. Susan has used invisible bubbles to cut off The Hulk's oxygen, pop Deadpool's head like a balloon, stop The Thing and Doctor Doom mid-battle, rip Doom's armor from his body, she's destroyed a Celestial (which are basically cosmic Gods), threatened to cut off blood flow to give The Wizard a heart attack (which caused him to faint from fear), and murdered The Psycho-Man behind closed doors.
Thanks for reading.

The Five Favorites of 2017

Boy, what a role reversal 2017 ended up being for comic. From the tail end of the New 52 sucking and Marvel's machine gun-style event launching to an era where I read maybe one Marvel book a weeks and five DC books a week, things have certainly changed! So let's talk about some of favorite comics this year. And remember, these are my favorite comic books of the year by opinion. Alright, here The Panel Biter's Top 5 Favorite Comic Books of 2017!

5. The Champions

Diversity strikes again! Champions is the work of writer Mark Waid and artist Humberto Ramos. I love this book so much, it's the only Marvel book here because it seems like the only book with a consistent message: Do good things because they're good. And that's a broad message, sure, but when you show The Champions saving lives, donating their time and care into helping people in need, inspiring regular people to do something for the community, it makes it feel so much more heartfelt. That's why I love the book so much, it's about these wholesome characters helping the world. So many Marvel titles are about public backlash towards heroes or world-ending threats, it's like this is the only book to show a team who progressively solve problems before their asked to, like they're the only ones talking to people. This team is so refreshing and their amazing stories help plunge those "SJW Marvel" haters into obscurity. The Champions aren't here to pander, they're here to remind us what heroes look like! 

4. Mr. Miracle

A fairly new series, "Mr. Miracle" comes to us from Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads. Following the life of New God/superhero/celebrity escape artist Scott Free, this comic is Tom King's visual display of the horrors of PTSD. Essentially, Scott is a warrior of an alien world being dragged back into a unwinnable war against DC's resident badass: Darkseid. Only, Darkseid is gone. But his influence still is. Darkseid is. That's the terrifying theme of the book, that no matter how many fights are fought or how far Scott runs, he can't leave this war. Scott's power is escaping any trap, but what happens when he's faced this trap of life? This book is beautiful and it's artistic tricks speak volumes. Tom King-who's work on Batman has been shaky-knocks this book out of the park. Next to his "Vision" book, this is sizing up to be masterclass storytelling.

3. Superman

Yep, still excellent. Mainly written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason (with Gleason on occasional art duty) I present a true-to-form Superman title. And it's not some alternate universe story about a perfect Superman and his family (that's why "Renew Your Vows" didn't make it here) it is canon, part of the universe, the son of Superman-Jon Kent-is the newest face in the DCU. And gosh is this book a shining star. This book follows the adventures of Superman, his wife and badass reporter Lois Lane, and their potentially stronger-than-dad son Jon/Superboy. It is so nice to see a book where Superman is allowed to be himself AND solve new problems. Parallax possessing kids? Frankenstein fighting his wife? How about fixing the government of an alien planet? Yeah, Superman's on the job. Along the way Superman and Lois teach important lessons about morality and American history to their son, reminding readers the better parts of American culture that are worth hanging on to. We see Jon's growth and his struggle, we see both Superman and Lois have adventures of their own, and we see a family built from love and hope tackle a world in desperate need of it.

2. Nightwing

I love when bias is justified. "Nightwing" by Tim Seeley and Minkyu Jung (the best artist on the book) is a fantastic journey following the first Boy Wonder himself, Dick Grayson. Coming off the heels of the spy book "Grayson" this book sees a return to form as Dick is back as Nightwing, moving to the Vegas-like city of Bludhaven, and effectively establishing his own place as a DC Comic's superhero. Nightwing's book has a cast of supporting characters who are recovering supervillains, returning villains from the Nightwing books of old as well as an exciting new villain named Raptor who is both fresh and interesting, but also connected to Grayson's past. The organized crime of Bludhaven had me interested, Grayson's character is spot-on as how I know the character, the guest stars fit perfectly into the story, and Grayson's complicated relationship with the new character Defacer makes Batman and Catwoman look like cheap Skinemax. This book is such a lover letter to Nightwing and his history as a solo act, as a lover, as a Robin, as a Batman, as a character in general! This book makes him feel like a staple of the DCU while also allowing him to spread his arms and have room to be his own man. It's what I've always wanted out of a Nightwing book. And it can only fly up from here.  

1. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Surprise! From Boom Studios, writer Kyle Higgins and artist Hendry Prasetya comes probably the best Power Rangers thing-like-in the past decade. Better than that new ninja one, better than the movie, this is the best. This is the first of two series Boom Studios has published based of the show "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and it is the expansion of the show fans like me have wanted for years! Update the world and characters to match modern times, show the events between episodes, show the growth in characters, and you have one amazing comic book about a childhood classic. This series introduces dark future versions of characters, the idea of the Power Rangers working with a branch of the government, and exploring the hopes and fears of our favorite Power Rangers. What helps the book is the understanding of the material by Higgins-an old school fan of the show-who masterfully steeps the comic in continuity and references things from the show that never got resolved. He explores this avenues that the show couldn't afford to. The show had a budget and was made for kids, but this comic can do anything AND is made for fans of the show. Adult fans with adult ideas. That's probably the best part, this feels like an adult version of The Power Rangers, but it isn't gritty or dark like everyone thinks an adult Power Rangers should be. This version of the Rangers features diverse character interactions, real-world issues applied to each character, the behind-the-smoke perspective on what The Rangers do and how the world sees them. When you watch Power Rangers and ask stuff like "where is the government in all this" or "how are they not killing anyone" or "why don't they use that teleporting power", you go unanswered. But this book answers all of that and more! Seriously, this isn't just bias, this book is awesome. It has cool ideas and a loyal, but evolved, presentation of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And we all know they're just getting started!
Thanks for reading!

Film Over Print

When a movie studio has a new comic book movie coming out they like to advertise anyway they can. Some of these advertisements include television, posters, website ads, that kind of thing. You would assume ads in comic books too, but Marvel Comics is guilty of going a step further.

Comic book movies are inspired by comic books. Sometimes creative liberties are made for the benefit of the story, but that's all. Ego The Living Planet wasn't made a Celestial God to shake the comic book industry, the makers of "Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2" just needed a simple explanation. As such you'll find Marvel-and sometimes DC Comics-changing their continuity, hyping up characters, and establishing non-existent relationships just to match the films they're making. The obvious example of this is with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Up until 2014, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff were the children of Magneto and official mutants. They were the first mutants on The Avengers. However, due to a legal dispute between Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox, both companies gained the rights to put the twins in their movies. Now since Marvel can't say their twins are mutants in their Avengers movies-and they didn't want to give Fox any credit-they felt it necessary to change the origins of the twins in the comics so that they were no longer connected to Magneto or mutants. While Quicksilver got to stay the same in the X-Men films, Marvel Studios made it so Wanda and Pietro got their powers from an Infinity Stone, and Marvel Comics retconned the twin's origin to establish they were scientifically enhanced by a supervillain. All of that because of film rights. An easier example is Howard The Duck-a fan favorite around these parts. In the comics-before his cameo in "Guardians of The Galaxy"-he had nothing to do with The Guardians. But after the cameo he ended up meeting The Guardians in issue two of his 2014 series and teaming up with Rocket Raccoon four times afterwards. Then there is Darren Cross, who was just a rich guy before the "Ant-Man". But in "Ant-Man" Darren wore a Yellowjacket suit, and-sure enough-in the 2014 Ant-Man solo series he reappeared and wore a Yellowjacket armor! The list goes on. Characters like Iron Fist were changed in theme to match his show, Vulture and Ego got pushed for more recent appearances, and characters like Phil Coulson and Hope Pym got their own comic book versions to match the films (granted Hope was imitated by a teenaged daughter of Pym). But why? Why!?
See, the reason comic book publishers respond to the films by changing their canon is because they think their comic books are actually being purchased by people who saw the film. I've said this many times, but they fail to understand that the common movie-goer isn't reading comic books. Just because you have four new Doctor Strange books doesn't mean the guy walking out of the Doctor Strange movie is going to read them all. And if you want to say "we're doing it for the hardcore fans" then why do it now when the film just came out? For an excuse to make more books? It just all seems like a hopeless stunt to get more readers who see the films, but the sad fact is nobody is going from seeing "Ant-Man" to a comic book shop to just pick up twelve issues of it. And if they are doing that it's because they were already reading some other comics.
Getting into comic books isn't like getting into baseball. What I mean is, to be a fan of baseball all you have to do is follow a few teams, know some names, know some scores, and know when to watch the games. But comics? There's a lot more. If you want to be a follower of Spider-Man then you better know about his 1960's creation, his various writers and artists, his supporting cast, his villains, his powers, his suits, certain story arcs, editorial changes and upsets, various Spider-Man titles and miniseries, alternate universes, non-canon stories, all of that AND what doesn't actually exist anymore. Unlike actual history, comic book history can change just by a writer saying "oh, that was all fake" or "the universe was changed so it didn't happen". And that's all about Spider-Man! Imagine wanting to be a serious Avengers or X-Men fan. All the characters and their histories combined with the history of the teams. That's way more complicated. Comics require a lot of time and patience, and it's easier to remember a two hour film than 75 years of comic books. Not to mention the streamlined world Marvel Studios has created, no retcons or big changes.
If you ask me, comic book writers should have the freedom of writing whatever they want. Just because Vulture showed up in a movie doesn't mean Spider-Man has to fight him in two different books. Just because the latest Wolverine film was loosely based on "Old Man Logan" doesn't mean Old Man Logan has to be part of the main Marvel Universe. And just because The Hulk, Namor, and Doctor Strange were replaced by the Netflix heroes in that "Defenders" show doesn't mean they shouldn't be excluded out of the comic series. Seriously, the ACTUAL Defenders are pretty badass.
Thanks for reading!

Why I Love Nightwing: A Not-So-Christmas Story

Why do I love Dick? Oh, I'm so sorry. That's a horrible pun to start with. I thought about doing this whole Christmas themed post about some obscure character or maybe changing the lyrics of a Christmas song to match comic book characters, but when I looked within myself for a truly meaningful post to write, I could only find one. I've talked about it on recording, but never by writing. And-in fact-this topic I'm here to discuss didn't just kickstart my love for Nightwing, but my love for all of comic books! So today, only a few days from Christmas, I want to tell you all about the time I was Robin, and my father was Batman.

Before I was a year old my parents got divorced. It wasn't anything nasty or spiteful, they just realized there wasn't any love anymore, not like before I was born. You'd think I'd grow up resentful or that or maybe I'd blame my birth, but I was raised to be optimistic. Unlike a lot of divorcee fathers, my Dad stuck around, he actively raised me and spent time with me as much as he could. My father lived in the basement of my Grandmother's house where he had kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. What's kind of nice is that my Uncle owns that house now so I can still visit a childhood home whenever I want. My Dad kind of spoiled me, I guess he felt like I deserved to be. Of all the toys he bought the most, Batman was the common superhero in his household. He had action figures, Batmobile models, all four films, and a few 90's era comics. My introduction to Batman was through my father's interest in a more down-to-Earth, badass superhero like Batman. But a more important introduction was to Robin.

Now the next part of the story is really heavy on my relationship with my father and later my brothers on his wife's side of the family, so I wanted to give my Mom a mention. My mother is the most amazing woman in the world, right next to my Ma who beat lung cancer three times. Take that Jane Foster. My Mother was my common caregiver, she was single for most of my childhood, and she wasn't perfect. I hate saying that, but she knew as well as I did. Not like it mattered. She was still the best mother in the world. Even if I shared a love of movies and comics and video games with my father, my mother still taught me how to be a good person, how to respect people, how to laugh and how to show people how much you care. I owe her everything for what she taught me and my younger brother Ben. The two of us are who we are because of her strength and courage. And I love her with all my heart. But she's no Batman so...!

Surrounded by all this Batman and Robin stuff, I-a wee lil' Raffi-imagined my Dad as Batman and myself as Robin. It's all well and cute of me, but in hindsight I think we can all sleep better at night knowing my father isn't Batman. Thank God for that. But it was something different. Superman was still awesome, but he worked alone. Spider-Man was interesting, but he worked alone. Batman and Robin weren't just partners, they were family! Father and son, just like me and Dad. And yeah, I was as much a dork back then as I am now so I won't pretend this was just a child's fantasy, it was a desire to see myself and my father as larger than life. Above normalcy.

Then, when I was around ten years old, I didn't see things that way anymore. It was childish, it was silly, that was just the sad, lonely fantasy of a kid with no friends. A kid who could remember the original 151 Pokemon better than a math quiz. A kid who knew who The Scarecrow was, but didn't know why Ben Franklin was so important. I started growing up and I'm sure my interests shifted more towards video games or cartoons, "Teen Titans" being a big one for me. It allowed me to see Robin on his own, without Batman, and learn he didn't have to be with Batman to be a hero. He be alone or with his friends. At that point the internet was a thing (a usable thing) so I found myself Googling and reading about multiple characters, slowly building the encyclopedic knowledge I have today. Come to find out Robin was only the first Robin. The first Robin-Dick Grayson-grew up into a man and became Nightwing. I was immediately back to my old mindset. You're telling me there was a kid superhero who fought crime with his father-figure AND grew up into a badass solo hero himself!? From then on Nightwing was my absolute favorite. I didn't always draw the connection between him and myself, but I was becoming more independent into my teenage years and I could be happy knowing even the kid superheroes get to grow up and be their own people, just like me. But here's where it gets weird! When I was very young my Dad met a woman named Angie (who today is my Step-Mother. And with her she brought three kids, my step-brothers I'd know for most of my life.

Now this next part involved my Step-Family so I wanted to give a shout out to my fourth parent (yeah, I have four parents just like Superman) my mother's third husband Mark. Her second husband was Ben's dad, but I only got so much room to write. Mark is pretty awesome. He's been part of my life since the beginning of my teenage years and he took the job of step-dad like a champ. He wasn't too inclusive in my life, but when I needed to talk to him about something or I wanted to tell him something I thought was interesting he always listened and never made me feel stupid or bad for thinking the way I did. He'd made me feel stupid on multiple occasions regarding real-life, important stuff, but I know he only does so because he thinks I'm smarter than I appear and I appreciate that. And he's an excellent father to Ben. Again, the two of them have fought and pissed each other off, but at the end of the day Mark would put himself on the line for Ben and Ben loves Mark like a son loves a father and I can't help but think about our oldball family everyday. Four people with different last names, well, until he and Mom got hitched!

So there was the oldest Travis, the middle child Gage, and the youngest Christian. Now, Christian lives with Dad and Angie nowadays and Gage is living on his own with his son Aiden, but Travis passed away in his sleep when I was eleven. I think about him a lot, he was physically disabled so he was dependent on his family. And while I regret not being as close to him as Christian or Gage was, he's still in my heart. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have such a personal connection to the current Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes who is the caretaker of his disabled brother Gabriel. But back on Robin, I went on to read about the other two Robins that Batman adopted: Jason Todd and Tim Drake. For whatever reason I didn't draw a parallel to Jason's death and Travis', but that's for the best. Point is, I had two step-brothers and there were two more Robins after Dick. Again, mind blown. I become more independent from my father and he has two other sons to help raise. Dick leaves Batman, but Batman fathers two more troubled youths. That has to mean something. And later on when Damian Wayne was introduced as a ten year-old psychopath, and my brother Ben is ten years old and still a little monster? IT MEANS SOMETHING.

Now I'm not saying I'm going to steal a child and go fight crime. I can easily go pick up Ben and bring some masks I conveniently own. But Dick Grayson is still Nightwing to this day. He's been Batman, he's been a secret agent, but at the end of the day he's always growing and changing. He's with Batgirl, now Starfire, now this blue-haired girl. And that's the point. Nightwing is relatable because he's always growing, either through relationships, partnerships, teams, or just from aging and wearing a new costume. That's why I love Nightwing, but he reminds me of how far I've come as a person, how I've developed from someone's sidekick to my own man, my own individual. I own a car, I have an apartment, I have a girlfriend who loves me very much, a job that allows me to live happily. I have this. A website where I can talk about whatever I want! Silly stuff, emotional stuff, stuff that makes me feel smart or creative. I have the outlet for my thoughts and people actually read it! And I have all of this because I built them, I earned them, and I hold on to them for dear life. I have this life because my family gave me the tools with which I built my life. I wouldn't be my own man, if my family didn't make me one. That's why as high as I go, I know I'll never burn up. Because the people I love are my wings. My nightwings.

Thank you so much for reading.

Have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

X-Men From X-When?

In 2012, Hank McCoy went back in time and brought the original five X-Men from their past to his present. As a result the five time-displaced X-Men have been stuck in the present for the past six years. But the question I pose is this: what time did they come from?

So, as you may know from my posts and podcasts I have been following these time-displaced X-Men in "X-Men Blue" as well as Cyclops in "Champions" and these two titles could not be more different in quality. But we're not here to make pieces of paper fight, we're here to determine what year this X-Men come from. We know they are from the early years of The X-Men, they're all still teens, they all arrived in the classic yellow and black training suits, and they are the only members of their X-Men team. But we can narrow it down further. In "Champions", Amadeus Cho asks how many villains Cyclops has even fought with The X-Men in the past. Cyclops recounts The Vanisher, The Blob, Unus The Untouchable, Magneto, and Namor The Sub-Mariner as foes. Using the power of the internet we can find the exact date of each battle. The latest of these enemies was Unus The Untouchable who they fought in issue #8 of the first X-Men run in 1964. So question answered right? Welp, no.
See, the same comic that gave us that helpful list of villains also provided us with an interaction between Cyclops and Amadeus in which Amadeus asked what TV shows Scott used to watch in the past. Scott's only show of reference was "Seinfeld". For anyone not from the US (or a teenager in 2017) "Seinfeld" was a sitcom following the fictional life of comedian Jerry Seinfeld that aired from 1989-1998. But that's not the same year! Nani!? Well, now we hit the sliding time scale of Marvel Comics. You know how Spider-Man was sixteen in 1962 and is supposed to be like thirty by now? Kinda weird, but the truth is Marvel Comics likes to pretend the events of the past move up as the years go by. So instead of Peter being a teen in the 60's, now he was a teen in the 90's. Instead of Captain America being unfrozen in the 60's, he was unfrozen in 2000 or so. Time scales up as the years go by to keep the characters from getting too old. So, by that logic, our scaling of time for The X-Men applies about the same. Think of it this way: Spider-Man appears as a teenager in 1962 and The X-Men (who were teens) appeared in 1963. This could mean adult versions of the characters are about the same age, so if Peter Parker and Scott Summers were teenagers around the same time in the 60's, they were scaled up once more to say they were teens in the 90's.
So the safe bet is to say the OG X-Men were operational around 1994. What makes this weird and kinda genius is that the X-Men got their popularity in the 90's. By the 90's they were a household name and it seems every retooling of the X-Men is trying to get back to those days. So if the time-displaced X-Men were to go back to the 90's, could we see the X-Men comics regain that popularity? Marvel Comics could try to test that theory, time will tell if that's their secret goal.
Thanks for reading.

Garth Facts

Are you a fan of Aqualad? Well, we got One Dozen Tempest Facts!

1. Garth's parents belonged to a faction of Atlanteans who built a separate colony and focused on collecting artifacts and practicing sorcery. His mother and father were leaders of this colony and were betrayed by his uncle who sought dark magical powers. His father was killed and his mother was sent back to Atlantis where she gave birth to him. Due to his heritage and exposure to dark magic within the womb, Garth was born with incredible magic potential. He was trained by Aquaman's father until he was a teenager and became Aquaman's sidekick; Aqualad.

2. Aqualad was a founding member of The Teen Titans alongside Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Speedy. When The Teen Titans changed rosters he returned to Atlantis to be with his pregnant wife, Dolphin. Later still, Garth returned to the adult team-The Titans-as Tempest.

3. Garth's wife Dolphin has had previous romantic relationships with Aquaman. She has also had a child with Garth only for the child to die at the hands of The Spectre's rage. During his days as Aqualad he had a relationship with Tula-the Aquagirl. Sadly she died by chemical radiation to the water she was swimming in.

4. In two alternate universes Garth had become Aquaman. In the story "Teen Titans: Year One" he is a gray-skinned outsider who can live outside of  the sea without water for long. He also smells awful and is very timid. In "Teen Titans: Earth One" he is unconnected to Aquaman and is instead a human orphan mutated by alien DNA to become a fish-person similar to Garth's friend Lagoon Boy.

5. Garth shares the abilities of super strength and speed, enhanced durability, and the ability to maneuver underwater like Aquaman. He can also communicate with sea life. His magical powers include projecting heat vision from his eyes, he manipulate water and control it's temperature forms, he has telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, a sixth sense, astral projection, teleportation and demonic conjuring. He can use magic to travel across time and dimensions. He can use artifacts like The Poseidon Trident to amplify his powers. Despite all these powers, his personal tragedies limit his abilities.

6. In the cartoon "Teen Titans" Aqualad appears as an occasional ally of The Teen Titans and is elected as a founding member of Titans East. In "Young Justice" he is a friend of Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad. He is also the lover of Tula, but after her death between seasons he joins The Justice League's sidekick program as Tempest.

7. The second Aqualad was Jackson Hyde, son of an Atlantean woman who lived on the surface who had a brief romance with Black Manta-Aquaman's greatest villain. Jackson Hyde is Black Manta's son, which haunts him. From his mother-who knew Atlantean magic-he inherited some Atlantean spells like water manipulation and electricity projection. After DC Rebirth in 2017, Jackson was retconned to appear similar to his "Young Justice" counterpart and is now homosexual.

8. In "Young Justice" Jackson Hyde/Aqualad is now Kaldur'ahm, from Atlantis. He is still the son of an Atlantean woman and Black Manta, but he was raised in Atlantis as Aquaman's sidekick.

9. An unofficial member of the Aqualad lineage is Lagoon Boy, an Atlantean with an appearance that usually excludes him from Atlantean crowds. He has no set origin, nor a name outside of "Young Justice", but he has powers unlike any member of The Aquaman Family. Lagoon Boy can expand his body like a pufferfish, enhancing his strength. He has also been a member of The Titans East.

10. As Tempest, Garth's first costume was red and black modelled off of the flag of his family's colony. It was also indicative of the Aqualad red and blue costume. In modern depictions of Garth as Aqualad his costume has been both red and black and orange and black to match Aquaman. The current Aqualad-Jackson Hyde-wears a modern version of the classic Aqualad costume. Going back to Garth, he has also has a lot of facial hair and tattoos, unintentionally making him look more like actor Jason Momoa than Aquaman.

11. Garth is regarded as possibly the greatest Atlantean sorcerer-aiming him a spot on The Sentinels of Magic. The Sentinels of Magic were a union of magical characters from across the DCU who banded together to stop the rampaging Spectre. This group included members like Deadman, The Phantom Stranger, Doctor Fate, Lady Xanadu, Zatanna, The Enchantress, and fellow Titan, Raven.

12. In 2009, Aquaman was dead and Garth was inspired by Dick Grayson to take on his mentor's position and become Aquaman. Before claiming the mantle he visited Aquaman's grave with Mera only to be attacked by the Black Lantern zombies of Aquaman, Tula, Dolphin, and various dead Teen Titans during "Blackest Night". By the end of the event, Aquaman is revived and Garth is killed and given a memorial at Titans Tower.
Thanks for reading! 

The DC Bible

The DC Extended Universe has been inspiration from some of DC Comic's most revered works; The Dark Knight Returns, The Death of Superman, Flashpoint. These building blocks are what this universe has built upon, but perhaps the better influences for this film universe do not come from the best sellers on buyer's lists, but rather from a connective universe that already existed outside of comic books. I am of course referring to The DC Animated Universe.

Full disclaimer: I loved "Wonder Woman" and I thought "Justice League" was great, but we cannot ignore the reason Wonder Woman was such a beacon of hope was partly because of DC and Warner Bros' previous flops. And we can't forget Justice League was built off the disaster that was "Batman v. Superman". Anyone else find it weird it's "v. Superman" and not "vs. Superman"? Like, it's a court case now? Anyway despite a good solo film and a decent team-up film, Warner is preparing for the worst. Hence "Flashpoint" taking the place of a Flash solo movie. Just in case Affleck wants out, just in case those three Joker/Harley films lose directors, just in case we blame the lack of box office cash on Whedon and ditch his Batgirl film, we have Flashpoint to start over. Now, I could write an entire series of posts regarding how a DC Cinematic Universe could work (oh wait, I f%#king did!) or record a podcast about some central figures like Superman and Harley Quinn and how their films could work (oh wait, I f%#king did!), but I find it's easier to point you readers in the right direction and give you a prime example of a shared universe working.

The DC Animated Universe was probably the first time I was introduced to the DC Universe. Not the first introduction to Batman, or Superman, or The Flash, but my first encounter with the concept of them all existing in the same universe. "Batman: The Animated Series" is regarded by many as the best comic book TV show ever made, it's production, it's animation, and the loyalty and heart behind it would give inspiration to many concepts to this day. That Mark Hamill guy who voices The Joker in everything? Started there. That Harley Quinn character everyone loves and sells boat-loads of merchandise and gives all the boners? Started there. Mr. Freeze being a tragic villain who you really shouldn't laugh about. Started there. "I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman"? Started there! What can be easily called the greatest Batman film to come to theaters "The Mask of The Phantasm" was in that show's universe! The Superman cartoon that streamlined the continuity of Superman and portrayed the loyal-to-the-page Superman. The Batman Beyond cartoon that CREATED one of the coolest alternate future stories for the Dark Knight. The Static Shock show that turned a cult classic comic book series into a household name. And finally the Justice League show that brought all these characters together. The Justice League-and it's sequel show-introduced classic DC characters to children across the country. The Flash, Booster Gold, Shazam, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Etrigan The Demon, Captain Atom, The Question, and so many more. And the threats we saw like Brainiac, Darkseid, The Legion of Doom, this show made Lex Luthor a legitimate super-villain. This show did parallel universes, time travel, end of the world scenarios, The Suicide Squad, The New Gods, this show actually showed us what The Anti-Life Equation looks like!

Everything I know about DC Comics, everything I love about their world started here. And it wasn't just because of the colors and the fights and the superpowers, it was because of the characters. Something the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes advantage of is the distinctly different personalities they have. The vastly different people who have to interact with each other. That is what keeps people coming back, to see these people interact more, to see them grow more, to see where their going to go next and what will happen to them. What will happen to them. You want to know why people ever wonder about that? Because they care about these fictional people. Because the writers and actors involved make them care. I may care about what will happen to Batman, Superman, The Flash, Cyborg, Aqua-(eh, not really him), and Wonder Woman, but not as much as I cared about the Justice League on the cartoon! That was a group of characters I cared about because they had character, they had time, they bounced off each other and grew from it. And storywise, remember this: there were plot elements in Justice League Unlimited that started in the Superman cartoon. Elements started in Batman Beyond. Elements that started in time periods we never got to see. Possibly elements harkening to the Teen Titans cartoon that was never even supposed to be part of the DCAU.

There are obviously somethings that can be done in a cartoon you can't do in a movie, but as far as the characters, the writing, and the plot lines, the DCAU is practically the Bible of serialized DC storytelling. It's all there, on DVD and Netflix and Youtube. The basic guidelines to a DC universe, guys like Paul Dini and Bruce Timm are even alive to help guide these films. Well, maybe Dini more than Timm. Timm is kind of a disgusting bastard now. But with so much to work off of and all the work done for you, all Warner Bros proves to us by not using the DCAU as a reference point is show how incompetent they are, how they think they know better than these silly children's shows, and how they'd rather rely on the pompous, overly dramatic, marketable, 8th Grade literal skills of writers and directors who'd rather jerk off with a photograph of Alan Moore on camera than actually read "Watchmen".

Thanks for reading.

Children's cartoons. Yeah, because The Justice League in World War II was just another episode of "Spongebob".

The Big DC 50 (Part 5)

Okay, hoof! Last time we're doing this. Shortest version: Batman and his people have too many upcoming films and DC has plenty of other comic book characters who work on a movie screen. So here we go, ten more DC properties that need a movie more than Batman!

Static Shock

Both on page and on TV, Static has captured attention because he's a hero we don't see often. An African-American teenaged superhero who's home is riddled with gangs and who's family is missing a mother. You could basically make a down-to-Earth street gang film where the main character has to overcome his fears of fellow gang members and use his powers for good. This could be a great presentation of a struggle that still happens today. Plus, with his mother dying during gang riots, him getting his powers during a gang riot, and him being a inner city black kid? The drama writes itself. You can get away with subject matter here you couldn't on a cartoon. Did you know his friend Richie is gay? He is! Make a movie about this guy!

The Spectre

FOX thinks "New Mutants" will be the comic book horror movie to split the genre, but The Spectre has so much more to offer. He used to be a police detective murdered by criminals, but he was chosen as the Spirit of God's Wrath to get revenge on all criminals. So you make a paranormal mystery flick. Like, there is a group of young ghost investigators who stumble across the ghost of a dead cop, maybe killed by some corrupt cops ten years ago. The dead cop comes back as The Spectre and kills his former coworkers while avoiding the investigators and maybe there's some exorcist like John Constantine or Zatanna to try to capture The Spectre. It's a great mix of modern horror films and the slasher films of old, while also painting the horrific spirit as a tragic anti-hero.

Supergirl

Look, I know "Arrow" can be ignored when working on a Green Arrow film, I've been ignoring it for the past five years and I haven't even written a Green Arrow dialog yet, but the "Supergirl" show is too good to ignore. If there's a movie it can't even be close to what Supergirl does so you have to get weird and different. So maybe you a Supergirl film where she ends up on another planet, or she trapped by Brainiac and has to escape, or she goes to the Bottled City of Kandor and has to raise a revolution against Brainiac. Or you go the obvious origin story route, get Superman and Batman and do the Supergirl origin Jeph Loeb wrote, the one adapted into "Batman/Superman: Apocalypse". That even has Wonder Woman and Darkseid in it. Portray Supergirl as the first teen hero of this universe. Or portray her as the cosmic equivalent to Superman. Portray a something, or nothing, she doesn't owe you a damn thing.

Swamp Thing

Guillermo del Toro. Not enough? A scientist turns him into a swamp monster and become intimately connected to the plants of the Earth. He hooks up with the descendent of a satanist who comes back as a monster who rots the world. Monsters, disturbing imagery, this is one of those horrors that scary, but not meant to scare or shock. It's a disturbing story that stars Earth's life given physical form. And Swamp Thing's powers are ripe for awesome special effects and great CGI. But again, get del Toro. If he isn't busy with one of the one thousand projects.

Teen Titans

F#$king duh! Where did a sidekicks go in this world? To build a team. Where did the first Robin go? To build a team. Where do we stick Cyborg? On a different team! My idea-one I've thought of for a long time-you have Dick Grayson put in a situation where he has to work with Cyborg The Justice Leaguer, Beast Boy the superpowered teen, the alien Starfire, and the demon-daughter Raven because there's an alien or something. Grayson has to get over his problems with Batman and evolve the Robin mantle into Nightwing. He comes out of retirement to teach this new generation of heroes what justice means. If you can't use Cyborg, use Bunker. He's gay, he's hispanic, he has cool powers. This would be the best way to use The Teen Titans, establish sidekicks, and have them in this universe.

The Titans

I guess my last idea was kind of a fusion of the Teen Titans and The Titans, but years down the line when you actually have sidekicks, just have them age to adulthood and see how the lives of the heroes have changed. Like, Roy Harper had a drug stint, and Aqualad learned magic, and Donna Troy learned she wasn't a real person. Have it be a reunion, a "getting the band back together" of superhero movies because an old foe has returned like Deathstroke or Mister Twister. For real, The Teen Titans are littered with legacy and development that would pay off in spades in a film format.

Vixen

First of all: Black, female superhero. Second, she runs a modelling agency so her costume being revealing would make sense. And third, she has the powers of every animal ever! If a creative team were to be put onto a Vixen film it would not only be insanely unique, but it would also be a step in the right direction for culturally diverse superhero films. She was born in Africa so the setting is different, you could mention other animal based characters like B'wanna Beast and Animal Man. Being able to go full tilt into the possibilities of a character so different and empowering would really score respect from old and new fans alike.

Warlord

This might be the weirdest idea, but Warlord used to be a US Air Force pilot. During a flight his plane crashed into this hole that led to the center of the Earth. And wouldn't you know it, there was an entire world down there. A world not unlike "Masters of The Universe". It is there this pilot falls in love with the native princess, befriends fellow warriors, and adopts the title Skartaris' defender, The Warlord. With his main foe being an evil sorcerer and his military experience strengthening this underground world, The Warlord is basically every modern fantasy movie. With such a basic premise a lot could be done to modernize and expand on this series. It would feel less like a superhero film and more like an action adventure series, a fusion of "The Phantom" and "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" and other film properties people like.

Young Justice

As if all my other DC sidekick ideas weren't enough, what if this team of teenaged heroes came from the future? That could be neat. Maybe Young Justice could be a film including The Justice League and this version of The Teen Titans and the whole film could explore how and why The League would ever take on sidekicks. Seeing Batman be over protective of this new Robin, seeing Superman question Superboy's creation, and having The Flash try and keep up with Impulse. Could be fun, could keep the cast large, but minimal, and having it be a light treading of these teams existing in the same world.

Zatanna

Hey, Wonder Woman was pretty great. Now imagine if it was also Harry Potter. Zatanna is a great secondary female hero to make bank off of. We're not just talking about her on a Justice League Dark film or paired with Constantine, just her alone is fun. Maybe she goes looking for her missing dad and stumbles upon some dark magical conspiracy. Her powers are basically as limitless as your imagination, she has a fun personality and background, and the kind of paranormal situations she deals with would really make her entertaining on screen. Just imagine some witty, fun actress playing opposite a giant demon who wants to steal her soul, but knows he doesn't stand a chance. Zatanna is one of those characters who is different enough, but fits perfectly in this universe.

Wow, okay. Didn't think I'd get this far, but yeah. That was fifty comic book properties DC and Warner could make films out of without Batman. And if I've learned anything from this it's that Warner is really lazy. Like, even Warlock has decades of material to work off of, but you'd rather put Batman on it and call it a day? Someone really needs to warn a brother.
Thanks for reading!

Duck Facts

Are you a fan of that Duck guy? Well, we got One Dozen Howard The Duck Facts for ya!

1. Howard The Duck comes from a universe of anthropomorphic ducks. His world seems to be similar to our own, as he has been characterized with the opinions and beliefs of a modern adult. Most versions of Howard are very pessimistic and critical towards society. His world also lacked superheroes. His coming to our universe was described as a cosmic mistake, a mistake that left him a "Nexus of all realities".

2. Howard's creator was Steve Gerber in 1973, he created Howard to be a gag character with political satire. However, in 1978 Gerber was arguing with Marvel Comics over creative rights to Howard and left the company only returning a few times.

3. While he has flirted with the idea, Howard has never had sex with a human. The closest thing to a romantic relationship he had with a human was a close friendship to an actress named Beverly.

4. After leaving Marvel Comics, Gerber would go on to create Destroyer Duck for Eclipse Comics-later named Image Comics-as a means of sticking it to Marvel Comics. Destroyer Duck was a parody of all the testosterone-pumped anti-heroes of that era.

5. In 1997 Gerber was hired by Marvel to write an issue of "Spider-Man Team Up" which featured Howard The Duck. At the same time he was to write a crossover between The Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck for Image. After learning Marvel's plans for Howard later in the year, he decided to make an unofficial crossover between the two books to get back at Marvel. In the Marvel book Spidey and Howard battle The Elf with a Gun while Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck are hidden in shadow. But in the Image comic Dragon and Destroyer battle The Elf With a Gun and the Elf creates magic clones of Howard to fluster them. During the chaos, Dragon and Destroyer grab the real Howard and Bev and bring them into a portal back to the Image Universe. Meanwhile, Spider-Man defeats the Elf and the only Howard clone left believes himself to be the real one. In Image, Howard and Bev change their identities. According to Gerber, he now owns the real Howard and Marvel's Howard is an empty shell.

6. In 2001, Steve Gerber returned yet again to Marvel to write "Howard The Duck MAX" as part of the MAX Imprint, this was a line of comics that were made for adults exclusively. They had vulgarity, nudity, sexual situations, and intense violence. It was this imprint that gave birth to cult classic comics like Punisher MAX and Alias. In this six-issue series Howard was transformed into a mouse (like Mickey Mouse), was turned into a large-breasted warrior woman mouse, went to Hell and talked to God.

7. The first three villains Howard The Duck had ever fought included Thog The Nether-Spawn, Garko The Man-Frog, and a Vampiric Cow named Bessie/Hellcow. The latter would reappear several times until 2011. Howard's archenemy is Doctor Bong, a former effects specialist who lost his hand in a concert riot. Using his supreme intelligence he designed a bell and metal ball-point hand to paralyze his enemies. Doctor Bong is also obsessed with genetic mutation on animals and falls in love with any women he's near in less then five minutes.

8. In the Amalgam Universe Howard was fused with the DC Comics character Lobo and became Lobo The Duck. In some comic and animated universes Howard is a cartoon character. In "Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe" Deadpool cooks Howard into a fried duck meal. And in the Spider-Gwen universe Howard T. Duck is a human and is President of The United States.

9. Up until 2006, Howard The Duck didn't exist in U.S. records. This meant Howard could park anywhere, didn't have to pay taxes or be on a Jury list or receive bills or vote. This was amazing for Howard, but after he somehow defeated a supervillain his friend and lawyer Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk got him American citizenship.

10. Howard The Duck appears in the background of the event Secret Invasion fighting Skrulls, however the writer of the story claims he hadn't written Howard The Duck down in the script once, meaning artist Leinil Yu snuck him in there. In his 2016 series Howard met a girl who ate a duck when was a child that was actually a brainwashed Skrull disguised as a duck. She gained shapeshifting powers as a result, but rather than be horrified about her eating a Skrull, Howard is more upset by her eating a duck.

11. Howard and the X-Men known as Doop fought back an invasion of robot barbarians with nothing but a broken sword, a rubber chicken with nails in it, and a gun that shot bees. In the "Marvel Zombies 5", Howard was part of a multiversal zombie hunting team with Machine Man. Howard once fused with Deadpool into Deadpool The Duck. Howard is a trained martial artist in the ways of Quack Fu. Howard has used both mech suits and his own Iron Duck armor. Doctor Strange has also taught Howard a few spells and offered to train him as his connection to the Nexus gave him enate magic potential. Speaking of potential, when one of The Watcher's eyes exploded and revealed hidden knowledge to Marvel heroes, Howard learned he could have become the smartest person on his Duck homeworld. He is a trained detective, he's worked as a ninja-for-rent and a receptionist.

12. Ever since he came to the Marvel Universe, Howard's life has been recorded and aired on television in the Mojoverse by Mojo, an alien who rules another dimension who's society revolves around entertainment like commercials, television, movies, and fights. Most TV shows there are based off of the heroes of Earth. When Howard learned his life was a reality show he was told by Mojo that during the boring stints of Howard's life (which means the times he didn't have his own comic book) Mojo would kidnap actress Lea Thompson to play Beverly and hire a small alien in a duck costume to be Howard and they'd film original content. Lea Thompson is a real life actress and she played Bev in the infamous 1986 Steven Spielberg "Howard The Duck" film, and the alien in the duck suit looked exactly like the duck-suited actor from the mentioned film. Meaning when people in the Mojoverse aren't seeing the real adventures of Howard The Duck they are watching a spin-off of our real-life Howard The Duck film.

Thanks for reading. 

An All-New MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is predictably unpredictable, but it is also consistent, endless, and capable of much more than people think. We all assume as soon as Marvel gets the rights to The X-Men and The Fantastic Four back everything will change. And it might. But what Marvel has done-wisely-is set up a backbone to support themselves no matter how long it takes to get those character's back. After the fourth Avengers film we could see some familiar faces leave, and newer heroes take the spotlight. So, what can we expect from Phase 4?

Guardians of The Galaxy 3

If Adam Warlock-basically space Jesus-doesn't show up in Avengers 3 or 4, he will definitely appear in Guardians of The Galaxy 3, either as an ally or a villain. That is for certain. If Thanos were to disappear for a while and the Infinity Gauntlet needs a knew wielder it would be Adam. But hey, this is Guardians, where is the funny plot? Well, at the end of the last film we got to see Yondu's fellow Ravager captains unite one more time to attend his funeral. They apparently go out to "steal some shit". So, what if after The Guardians helped defeat Thanos it got them fame throughout the galaxy, instead of being a band of hired help they become celebrities. I bet Star-Lord would love that, in fact the main plot could explore how the character's respond to cosmic fame. But Starhawk and his group benefit too because they start calling themselves the original Guardians, the people who inspired this group. And when Starhawk and Star-Lord come to blows, Starhawk throws Yondu's death into the argument. It would be a Civil War, but in space. Also just seeing more Stallone would be perfection. So now The Guardians have to defeat the old Ravagers and reclaim their title.

Ant-Man 3

All we know about "Ant-Man & Wasp" is that both Janet Van Dyne/Wasp and Bill Foster/Goliath are in it. It's going to be a romantic comedy with elements of the multiverse. Hank is still alive, Scott doesn't seem to deal with anything from Civil War even though he'd technically be a criminal again. Point is there is a long gap between now and this film. My first thought was introducing Crossfire, the nephew of Darren Cross who became an assassin with sniping technology. That could make a fun opener, Ant-Man fighting a guy who can shoot even the tiniest ant. I could see Wasp going off and taking a more serious role on The Avengers while Scott either dicks around or retires early to be with his daughter. In the comics his daughter uses Pym Particles to become Stature, so following the title theme the film could be "Ant-Man & Stature" a cute father/daughter superhero film. The daughter should be old enough by now, right? And by this point we've run out of alternate Ant-Man identities like Yellowjacket and Goliath. So maybe we get Black Ant, this scumbag SHIELD agent who was Ant-Man in "Irredeemable Ant-Man". At the end of the first film we see some shady suited man get away with particles. So maybe this new guy is a former conman or a corrupt cop who worked with Scott's ex's husband. But then we're retreading the Yellowjacket fight. Maybe a guy with a gun was a better idea. Oh, and Hank Pym will probably be dead.

Doctor Strange 2

We've already established Dormammu and the Dark Dimension, as we have established Doctor Strange is now a proficient sorcerer, so let's expand on that Dark Dimension stuff. Within the Dark Dimension exist these mindless beings known as-well-The Mindless Ones. From what I've read they were used by Domammu to conquer the realm. Two other beings from this realm are the sorceress Umar and the chief disciple Orini. The two bred and gave birth to a girl named Clea. While Umar and her brother Dormammu would be enemies of Doctor Strange, Clea would become his lover. So here we have a forbidden love story, possibly a ruse by Umar to lure Strange to Dormammu-on his orders-by using Clea. But then the victim Clea would reveal true love for Strange and they'd fight to escape the Dark Dimension. And if you want to cut corners, say Dormammu and Umar are lovers instead and Clea was the first human child they produced after all those Mindless Ones, tying it all together. This would also give Clea demigod powers which would make her an equal to Strange. I also feel as though the villain Nightmare would make a better villain by himself, maybe a third film where Nightmare uses Strange's memories of failing his sister during surgery could be compelling, while Shuma-Gorath should just be the next Thanos for the MCU.

Spider-Man Homecoming 2

Obviously it won't be called that. "Spider-Man: Formal" probably, having the theme continue with the Winter Formal, which comes between Homecoming and Prom. And the third act may not be the Formal, maybe the film opens with it. Spider-Man in snow isn't something we've seen on screen. At the end of the first film we see the next villain will probably be Mac Gargan/The Scorpion. He'll probably be given a power-suit by The Tinkerer, maybe he'll be an opening villain? In the old comics Gargan was hired to find out who Spider-Man was and got his Scorpion suit to keep up with him an capture him. And who hired him? J. Jonah Jameson! So while Peter tries to get his iconic photographer job at the Daily Bugle and work for Jonah, his new boss is actually sending a costumed supervillain after him. Makes an interesting plot, huh? Oh, and Aunt May knows Spidey's secret which makes things easy/worse. But Raffi-sama, why is Kraven The Hunter up there? Well, if that whole Scorpion thing falls through in the beginning of the film and Jonah needs someone better at tracking then some thug in a suit he could hire expert hunter-Kraven. And Kraven works because A. snowy winter means you wouldn't expect him, B. Spider-Man would severely underestimate Kraven after he beat Scorpion, and C. Kraven just wants to hunt and kill Spider-Man. This could lead to Jonah upping the price just so Spidey doesn't get killed, but Kraven rejecting him and Jonah trying to shoot him or something. This would only further develop the relationship between Spider-Man and Jonah, Jonah doesn't want the guy killed, just outed and put in jail for all the trouble he caused in the first film. You establish two new villains which gets us closer to the Sinister Six, you set up Jonah and Peter's relationship, develop Aunt May and Ned and MJ some more. And most importantly you keep Sony away from the script.

Black Panther 2

We know Ulysses Klaw is in Black Panther, cybernetic hand and all. And since Killmonger is the main villain we have a chance to give Klaw the treatment in the sequel. Again, this film isn't out yet which means we don't know what happens to Klaw or what Wakanda's vibranium mines look like yet, but in the comics Klaw creates a vibranium sound emitter that turns his body into solid sound. So, let's assume by the end of the Black Panther film Klaw is arrested and held prisoner in a Wakandian jail, breaks out and uses his new emitter, but after Panther breaks it Klaw becomes living sound. Now Panther has to juggle his role as a king while also trying to find the superpowered Klaw in Wakanda. It would be a cat and mouse situation of Klaw appearing all around the city, stealing as much Vibranium as he can to restore his full body and Panther tracking him down, losing sleep over his escape, and vowing to protect his people from him. His sister-a scientist in her own right-could work on a device that helps Panther actually touch this sound-being, while more traditional practitioners search for a mystical method of catching him. Oh, and some throw-away villain helps Klaw like Man-Ape or Achebe or Windeagle. Oh and put Manifold in there. He's awesome. 

Captain Marvel 2

Now what we know about the Captain Marvel film is that the original Captain Marvel named Mar-Vell will be there, it will be set in the 1990's, Nick Fury will be it without his missing eye, and it be slightly based on The Kree-Skrull War, or at least feature The Skrulls. Now I present you with the only Captain Marvel villain I remember; Moonstone. Her deal is that she was a psychiatrist who hated her patients and talked them into self-injury, but she once got a patient who was a supervillain and convinced him to give her the Moonstone-a rock from the moon that was charged with energy by the Kree-and used it to become a villain. In film form she could be a therapist for former criminals like ex-HYDRA soldiers or men who have worked for Aldrich Killian or Justin Hammer. The Moonstone itself could be another Infinity Gem under a different identity or perhaps connected to such cosmic objects like The Quantum Bands or the Starbrand or a piece of the Kree Supreme Intelligence or something. Like, if the first film is something different and original I don't think anyone is going to be pissed if we get another dark mirror to Captain Marvel. And having it be a female villain who hates people enough to manipulate them and then you give her a rock with cosmic power, that's at least a B-tier villain. Or-if you still don't want The Sentry to have a film-have Captain Marvel deal with The Sentry and where he comes from and stuff. Really though I think we're all down for Captain Marvel vs Moonstone. And if you want to set it in the past again that's fine, just make sure you cover your bases.

So that's what I predict will happen come Phase 4!
Thanks for reading!

Diversity: DEAL WITH IT

Diverse: Showing a great deal of variety, very different. So in a universe where mutants, aliens, sorcerers, cosmic entities, enhanced humans, and talking animals all exist at once, seeing a Black person makes you shit your pants?

"Diversity is ruining Marvel Comics" is what I would say if I was a stuck-in-his-ways, unagreeable, selfish, purist, idiotic, out-of-touch basement dweller. Jokes on you, fools. I live in an apartment now. A black Iron Man, a muslim Ms. Marvel, and an asian Hulk walk into a bar. They are all thrown out for being underaged. I mean, what do you people want? You want Iron Man and Captain America and Thor to leap up, high five and yell "Whites rule"? You want Bruce Banner to sit down with Amadeus Cho and tell him "You can stop being in comic books now, son. I'm here and I'm the white, male, adult people your age can relate to. Now excuse me I have to cause another war". You can't stop it, you know. All these black Spider-Men and Hispanic Falcons aren't going away, we're not going to take the vaginas off of Wolverine and Thor. And it's not like they're YOUR heroes anyway. Don't like Robbie Reyes and his "stupid car"? Johnny Blaze has a book with Blade. Don't like the new Hulk or new Wolverine, don't worry because Young Man Logan and Bruce "Banned" Banner are coming back. Don't like Miles Morales or Riri Williams, well don't worry because the only writer who cares about those two is going DC Comics!

Now you may be wondering, why is it only Marvel is overflowing with young diverse characters and DC isn't. Well, it's not for any metaphorical or marketing reasons. The reason that one higher up at Marvel said "diversity is killing sales" is because he didn't want to tell the press the real reason Marvel Comics is underselling is because they have 58 titles that cost at least four dollars a pop. Compared to DC Comics and their 25-30 titles that cost at least three dollars a pop and it's no surprise they're ahead. The problem isn't brown people it's Marvel ignoring retailers sales reports and opting to blame the minories like all big companies do once in awhile. Side with the political party that have the loudest voices and the shortest attention spans. The real reason diversity is taking over Marvel is because they lack any direction. Marvel's writers are leaving left and right and the editors they have on staff are either overworked or half-cocked. Some editors have to edit a total of fifteen titles. If you have over fifty books and you need each editor to edit fifteen books each, every week? You're going to get some slips. The second leg to this phenomenon are the young talents being pulled in. You see a lot of modern comic book writers like Jason Aaron, G. Willow Wilson, and Greg Pak like young diverse characters because those characters provide a voice for the modern audience. And with such a weak editing staff it's basically impossible to stop them from inventing these characters. Sure, we white adults may enjoy a good cinematic outing to the next Thor film, but for the differently colored and vastly aged viewers in the crowd watching Thor, they may relate to Thor on a personal level, but that's it.

That's why Champions is the best book over at Marvel right now. Maybe not the best selling, but it's still the best written. Because Mark Waid-a 55 year old man-captures the voices of these young people better than anyone else could. Champions has a muslim girl, a black boy, a white kid, a asian kid, a mutant (basically a gay metaphor) and a robot who is actually gay. If that isn't 2017's youth in a nutshell. And it's not all LOLs and Me Toos, it's actual topics of debate. The Champions exist to help people in ways The Avengers never had. The Champions don't punch down and they don't wait for trouble to find them. They stopped a human trafficking plot because they looked for it. Not because Scarlet Witch was captured by the criminals or because Aunt May was hurt. No, because they were looking for crime and they found one. The Champions started a movement, people cleaning up beaches and feeding the homeless. When Captain America went on a HYDRA bender and blew up Las Vegas, The Champions didn't chase him down and beat him up, they went to Las Vegas and looked for survivors. LIKE HEROES DO.

But I get it. It's easier to bitch and moan about these new heroes being annoying and pandering and reminisce about the days when Cap was a werewolf and Tony Stark wanted to arrest his friends, right? When Thor was unsellable and The Hulk wore a wife-beater and Spider-Man made a deal with the devil to divorce his wife without signing any papers. Where were you then, old people? Where was all this hate when Cyclops killed Professor X? Where were you hiding when The Fantastic Four left their home to Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Thing, and She-Hulk? No, it seems the only time you want to go online and make videos and essays regarding how people with different backgrounds than you are destroying a comic book company with caucasian-led films is when you "hear" about it. When you "see" it. But not when you "read" it. Did you read Ms. Marvel? Ironheart? Spider-Man Miles Morales or Totally Awesome Hulk? How about All-New Ghost Rider, or All-New Wolverine, or Moon-Girl and Devil Dinosaur or Champions? No. Because reading is hard and expensive. But being a selfish prick online? That's free.

Thanks for reading.

Fire Facts

Are you a fan of The Nuclear Man? Well, we got One Dozen Firestorm Facts!

1. The original Firestorm was a fusion of high school student Ronnie Raymond and physicist Martin Stein. In 1986, after a plot involving nuclear bombs Firestorm was reborn with Ronnie and Russian superhero Pozhar/Mikhail Arkadin, but Stein controlled Arkadin's body. In 1989 Firestorm was composed of Robbie, Mikhail and Svarozhich-a Russian clone of Firestorm. In 2004, after Jason's death, his essence within The Firestorm Matrix fused with struggling teenager Jason Rusch and formed a new Firestorm, in 2006 Martin Stein would return and fuse with Jason as well. Jason also fused with his best friend Mick Wong for a short time. Firestorm has fused with Firehawk, Gehenna, and Cyborg at points as well.

2. Firestorm was the result of a scientific creation called The God Particle malfunctioning, thus created The Firestorm Matrix. This is a realm of Nuclear energy that invisible to average people. Much like The Speed Force, it cannot be accessed by just anyone. During "Forever Evil" The Crime Syndicate where able to use the Firestorm Matrix as a type of prison where they locked a majority of three Justice League teams inside of the now brain-dead Firestorm. While inside each hero experienced a different hallucinogenic reality.

3. The incident that resulted in Pozhar's fusion with Firestorm came from a story in which Firestorm demanded all nations give up their nuclear weapons. This story brought the entire Justice League down on Firestorm and made him an enemy of the world.

4. On two occasions Firestorm has been called a Fire Elemental. The first incident had Jason and Mikhail become an environmental crusader who interacted with African element Gods, but ended with Stein becoming the sole Firestorm and being exiled into space for a number of years. The second time Firestorm was a Fire Elemental was during "Brightest Day" when The Entity-a being representing Life itself-selected a number of characters to carry out it's long-thought plan to revive and kill Deadman, but also selected Elementals for Earth. This also included Aquaman being a Water Elemental, Martian Manhunter being the Earth Elemental, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl being Air Elementals.

5. Confirmed by The New Gods and Darkseid: The Firestorm Matrix is one quarter of The Anti-Life Equation. An equation Darkseid has been hunting throughout his creation to enslave the universe. And The Atom can travel inside of it.

6. During "Blackest Night" Ronnie was revived-after his death via magical sword-as a Black Lantern, turned Jason's friend Gehenna into salt and referred to himself as Deathstorm. Even after Ronnie's revival, Deathstorm existed in the Firestorm Matrix and escaped a few times. On Earth-3, Martin Stein experimented with human subjects to test the boundaries between life and death. A lab accident caused him to fuse with a corpse and become Deathstorm.

7. In the world of Flashpoint, Flash villain Heat Wave killed Jason and tried to be the second half of Firestorm, but he is stopped by Cyborg.

8. Firestorm's main power is fire manipulation, but he also has the ability to rearrange molecules. He can essentially turn anything into any element, like concrete into styrofoam, steel into water, and so on. He could do this much easier when Stein was part of the fusion. Upon research and focus he can even create Kryptonite, making him an immediate threat to Superman. Fully powered he can create and destroy matter.

9. Firestorm's villains include the Superman villain Parasite, rope-master Slipknot, explosions expert Platique, and a serial killer named Weasel. His biggest villain is Killer Frost, the original was a scientist who fell in love with Martin Stein, but after she was involved in a lab accident and was spurned by Stein she became Firestorm's archenemy. The second Killer Frost was the best friend of the original and recreated the accident to get similar powers and fight Firestorm, as it was his radiation that killed the last Killer Frost. The second Killer Frost was also on The Suicide Squad for a brief time. Elements from both of these women were inserted into the modern Killer Frost Caitlin Snow, who's origins have nothing to do with the previous Killer Frosts or Firestorm. This new Killer Frost was likely made different so that she could spin-off as her own character, she has been a member of both The Suicide Squad and The Justice League. She has appeared as part of the Suicide Squad in animated form and had her origin story mixed with the first Killer Frost when she was made a main character of "The Flash" TV show.

10. Firestorm has appeared in animated format in 1984's "Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show", 2008's "Batman: The Brave & The Bold", and 2016's "Justice League Action". The writers of "Justice League Unlimited" wanted to use Firestorm, but struggled to find a good story for him. They planned on making him the focus of the episode "The Greatest Story Never Known", but the episode instead starred Booster Gold (as it should). Due to this episode, Booster Gold has gained the moniker of "The Greatest Hero Never Known".

11. In the universe of "Injustice 2" Firestorm is not only a playable character, but was also selected by Batman to guard Superman's cell with Blue Beetle. During the story he also creates Kryptonite for Batman just in case Superman betrays them again. Here it is established he is a fusion of Jason and Martin.

12. In "Batman: The Brave & The Bold" Jason is still a student, but Ronnie is his high school gym coach. In The New 52, both of the boys are students attending high school, but Jason is a nerd and Ronnie is a jock. This allows Ronnie to bring the physical strength and Jason to bring the smarts. The two of them have had disputes over control of the body and their powers, however. A fusion out of anger will result in a different form called Fury-a hulking monster. In the alternate future of Future's End, Jason gets a distress call from Green Arrow and calls Ronnie, but gets no answer. Half an hour later Jason goes to Ronnies' apartment where he has been romantically distracted. When the finally head to Seattle to find Green Arrow they see he died trying to save people in a burning building. Jason blames Ronnie, but Ronnie keeps Jason inside of the Firestorm Matrix for an extended time to shut him up until he breaks free. Jason goes on to fuse with the daughter of an arms dealer and joins The Justice League yet again.

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TOT: Hawkeye To Hugeguy

Anyone remember that one time Hawkeye became Goliath?

Clint Barton has been many things: Blind, deaf, a ninja, he was Captain America for an afternoon. But we all know him as Hawkeye-The Avenging Archer. He began his career as a criminal working with The Circus of Crime until he decided to turn his life around and join the second incarnation of The Avengers, consisting of two more ex-cons Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and Captain America-the first recruit of The Avengers. As time went on Clint worked side by side with such legends as Thor, The Hulk, and Ant-Man. Formerly Ant-Man, that is. See, good ol' Hank Pym got so self-conscious (being around modern day Gods and what not) he decided to reverse his shrinking technology and become Giant-Man! However, the particles end up lasting more than four hours, and since the only doctor he could call about his enlargement is himself, he has no choice but to remain giant for a while. During this period Hank joined The Avengers again as Goliath.

During an incident when Hank wasn't Goliath and Hawkeye was battling a giant monster at a circus (just go with it) his bow breaks and he is left useless. Absolutely useless. No bow, no go. He is a waste of space. But then he runs back to Hank's lab and dons a new suit and drinks Pym Particles (that's not a euphemism) and becomes the new Goliath. He rocks the mantle for about two years until the event known as The Kree-Skrull War, a battle between two alien races for the rights to planet Earth. At the conclusion of that story Clint returns to the mantle of Hawkeye. Over four decades later Clint would ironically die battling Kree invaders and five years later his wife would be replaced with a Skrull. Figures.

Clint may not be the first Avenger you call on in a jam, but he's not useless. No matter who says so. He's a sharp shooter with a dozen teched out arrows and a former life of crime, he's got the tools he needs to be a decent crime fighter. Really, this guy should be a Hero for Hire, but he's Avenger material! Throwing a shield, being a ninja, and firing arrows may be minor contributions from Clint, but being giant? Not his element. To see a a guy so accustomed to standing back and firing arrows to instantly rely on growing giant and punching folks is just irrational. And just because he's stealing Hank Pym's gimmick doesn't mean he has to steal his mental state.

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The Lanterns Get RANKED

Every Green Lantern. Human at least. And main universe. Official. Like, no Alan Scott or Jade or anything, strictly our main Green Lanterns. Let's rank!

6. Simon Baz

Or as I call him "The Attempt". Baz is DC Comic's newest Muslim superhero who took on the GL mantle in 2012, around the time the New 52 was starting to arrange itself. Baz sits on the bottom of the list because it was clear he was created to fit an agenda and not so much to be a new take on the format. Yes, his first story was one where he was a suspected terrorist because of his race and that story's relevance is apparent, but following that Baz didn't have much going on. He was supposed to be part of Argus's Justice League of America, but didn't actually appear until the tail-end of the book's run. He only became interesting when paired with Jessica Cruz as part of DC Rebirth. As of now he has gotten more character exploration and is part of the Justice League so there is hope the character can grow more.

5. John Stewart

I know everyone loves this guy because of that cartoon fifteen years ago, but even then I wasn't super amazed by John Stewart. When he was first created he was made into an opposer to authority. He didn't listen to Hal Jordan or the Guardians of the Universe, but as his origin was reworked he was made a former US Marine and fell more in line with the Green Lantern Corps. John is always the #2 for Jordan, often taking the lime light (pun) when he can't, but if you ask me the Marine background is the only thing that makes him interesting and even that was a change made so he'd fit better on a cartoon. And I won't be one of those people who claims his skin color makes him different, not anymore it doesn't. In terms of drill sergeants I think Kilowag does that job better AND he has a tragic backstory. Regardless I won't ignore John's contributions to the DCU.

4. Kyle Rayner

Kyle Rayner was DC Comic's attempt at making Green Lantern sellable. In the 1990's Hal Jordan became a villain, killed the GLC, and Kyle-a teenaged graphic designer-became Green Lantern, in a way this was a case of the old fuddy-duddy being replaced by the young, artistic, future of America. Of course, not everyone saw him that way. My issue with Kyle was that he felt unnecessary, you already had two other Green Lanterns at that time. I did like the idea that every construct Kyle made had to be different so that way his creativity would be on display. And later choices like him being the White Lantern and having all the Lantern Rings was cool too. What wasn't was the fact that he hooked up with Carol Ferris. Not cool, bro. Bro Code.

3. Guy Gardner

How did this a-hole get so high on the list? Well, chalk that up to originality. See, the one thing Kyle and Baz and John had going for them was that they were all pretty good people. The kind of people you'd invite over for a party. Guy is not one of those people. Guy is self-absorbed, obnoxious, chauvinistic, and an all-around pain in the ass. But he is still a superhero. I have always enjoyed character diversity, and I stress the word "character". You give me a Black superhero or a female superhero and I'll take it and be done, but you give a character who acts like no other character and I am interested. I like Booster Gold because he's a showboat, I like Ant-Man because he's a down-on-his-luck dad, and I like Guy Gardner because he knows how strong he is and isn't afraid to boast about it. A Lantern's true strength is overcoming fear, and a guy this stubborn plows through fear. He's had a crappy life and the GLC is his family, his reason for living, so when push comes to shove Guy is a Lantern you want on your team. Yeah, he's an asshole who doesn't deserve the power he has, but he doesn't care. He's a hero and he loves it.

2. Jessica Cruz

The newest Green Lantern and one the best, in my opinion. When we first saw Jess she was paralyzed with fear after her friends were murdered in front of her. She hid in a kitchen closet and was visited by a power ring from another world. This evil ring turned her into Power Ring, a hero who's power came from her own fear. When she overcame that fear and the control of the ring she chose to sacrifice herself to save The Flash. This resulted in the ring being destroyed and Jessica being chosen by the Green Lantern Corps. Now she doesn't use fear, she overcomes it. That origin alone makes Jess a very different Lantern, it allows the message of the Green Lantern to have physical representation. Her partnership with Baz also gives him a chance to expand as a character as she has. Between her character and her origin I believe nobody is more deserving of the Green Lantern mantle than her.

1. Hal Jordan

But you can't beat the original. Hal Jordan is the greatest Green Lantern of all time. Not because he was the first, but because he carries the message best. Overcoming fear is what Hal did for a living, it's what he does every day, and he's been through the ringer (pun) to prove it. He's utilized multiple rings, he's been possessed by Parallax, and he's been The Spectre, so hie resume is impressive. His relationships with Superman, Batman, The Flash, and Green Arrow also earn him some credibility. His development as a character was a long-time coming and his legacy is never ignored. More than anything else Hal proves to the DCU that mankind can expand beyond utility belts and bolts of lightning. That the will of man is stronger than any anger, any temptation, and any fear. I mean they guy is important he wasn't in "Justice League" so imagine how big of a role he'll play in the next one!

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