Joss Whedon Confirmed To Write And Direct "Avengers 2" 

And Also Possibly Develop Marvel TV Series

Today in a Disney investors conference call, it has been confirmed that Joss Whedon has signed on to write and direct the sequel to this summer's highly successful "The Avengers." It was also stated that Whedon is also on board to develop a live action television series featuring Marvel characters set in the same cinematic universe.
While details about "Avengers 2" and the TV series are scarce at the moment, fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the franchise is still in good hands. Stay tuned for more news as it develops.

THE JUSTICE LEAGUE RETURNS TO PREVENT EARTH’S “DOOM”

The Paley Center in Beverly Hills hosted the Justice League: Doom, Los Angeles premiere this week. Directors Lauren Montgomery and Andrea Romano joined LA Times Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher and some of the cast to discuss the making of the film as well. The thirteenth animated film from DC Comics and Warner Home Video features the return of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and arrival of new Justice League member, Cyborg. The film gives fans (of all ages) large doses of action, humor, and suspense.

filmaffinity.com

'The Untold Story' has begun to unfold

I was one of the lucky fans to get a chance to see the premiere of the new Amazing Spiderman 3D trailer and eight minutes of footage at Sony's "The Untold Story Begins" events today. There were special screeenings all over the world connected via satellite featuring stars of the film at several of the events, Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spiderman) in New York, Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) in Brazil, and Director Marc Webb at the Los Angeles screeening I attended. The screenings were packed! I was not able to get into the first screening, so I missed the free tshirts and satellite feed of the other sites, but I did get to see Marc Webb introduce the footage during a second screening. He talked quickly about his goals for the movie and then introduced the trailer shown in 3D and then 8 minutes of 2D footage.

The Dark Knight Rises - BATMAN film UPDATES 5/20/2011

News on the new Batman film, the third in the series, has been breaking all week. Warner Bros. put out the official release that production has started and that Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine will return to their roles and be joined by Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, among others. The production has already been spotted filming in India and England.

Go get HAMMERED with THOR this weekend!

Last night, The LA Times Hero Complex hosted a screening of the first superhero movie of the summer, THOR. Afterwards, Geoff Boucher from Hero Complex hosted a Q& A session with star, Chris Hemsworth, and director, Kenneth Branagh. The film was stunning and will hopefully kick off a big summer movie season (I don’t count Fast Five) of superheroes. Branagh and Hemsworth provided some great insight into the making of the film and even a small tease about a sequel. Read on for a SPOILER FREE review.

Superman, Man of Steel: Movie UPDATES 3/28/11

4/11/11 - Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have released more casting information regarding the Superman reboot being directed by Zack Snyder. The film, officially titled, "Man of Steel" has its villian!

Michael Shannon will play General Zod again Henry Cavill's Superman. Shannon's acting career includes an Oscar nominated role in Revolutionary Road and most recently working on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

The cast is getting bigger but still no mention of Lex Luthor. Are they saving him for a sequel? Are they avoiding the multiple villians plot? Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and keep your eyes turned to Fanboy Headquarters for future announcements on the "Man of Steel."

WonderCon 2011 - Day Two

Cowboys, aliens, and S.W.A.G., oh my!  Today’s con activities included film footage, some really amazing costumes, great giveaways, and meet & greets with the comics industry's top talents. Fanboy Headquarters’ Hotshot was joined in costume by two of our good lady friends (also in killer costumes…pictures in the album). The day closed out with a killer S.W.A.G./prize acquisition from Marvel for Brightboy and a gift to a father and son at the end of a long, long line.

The first panel attended of the day was for Jon Favreau’s upcoming summer movie, Cowboys & Aliens. Favreau opened up by saying how much he loves Wonder Con because it feels like the “traditional comic con” (the way it used to be). He was also very thankful for the impact comic con fans have had on his career (which earned a big applause). Favreau heard that the previous day’s film panel had brought 9 minutes of film to show fans, so he made sure he had about 9 minutes too and unlike the previous day, his footage won’t be shown to any other audience until the film’s release – this footage was for WonderCon fans only. The film, starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, is very much a western with an alien sci-fi touch. Favreau said so much of the film is the tone. “Even though the title is cowboys AND aliens, you have to feel like you’re watching a western and be surprised when the aliens show up,” he said. The clips were great, lots of authenticity to the Western genre and then a literal invasion of sci-fi alien attack. The action looks great; the iconic acting by Craig and Ford is great with seriousness and humor mixed in. To pay even more thanks to the fans, Favreau included a quick shot of the aliens the cowboys will face. He promised that was going to be shown to anyone else and it was our job to spread the word of how scary these things looked – THEY LOOKED SCARY! Not horror film scary, but enough to make the audience see the threat from the space attackers. It looks like Jon Favreau has another great film under his belt. The movie also has Olivia Wilde (TRON Legacy) and Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2) along with many other recognizable actors.  Catch Cowboys & Aliens this July.

The rest of the day was spent catching writer and artists for signings and chats. We caught up with Joel Gomez again today to check out some great sketches he did this weekend, including Cyclops and the Rocketeer. Robert Hickman of Image’s The Walking Dead fame spent a couple hours signing fan souvenirs and being thanked for helping to bring Zombies mainstream on the AMC TV show titled after the comic book, The Walking Dead. Geoff Johns, Len Wein, Jeph Loeb, Sergio Argonnes and many more were spread out through out the exhibit hall floor to give fans autographs and answer questions about their ongoing projects.

In the S.W.A.G. (in case you forgot: Something We All Get) Department there were Thor and Captain America movie posters from the Marvel booth. DC comics were giving out Green Lantern movie lanyards. Dark Horse comics had posters for their new comic series (and TNT’s Spielberg driven TV show of the same name), Falling Skies. The people over at MightyFine were giving out the always-popular large tote bags featuring a giant Elmo shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Probably the coolest S.W.A.G of the day came from the last hour of the exhibit hall floor during Marvel’s Giveaway Hour. Marvel’s Giveaway Hour is made up of hundreds of fans crowding the Marvel stage as the MC offers great items from the Marvel merchandise line including comics, posters and figures. Brightboy was there for almost the whole hour competing to earn a prize. After holding up a sign trying to get attention, he resorted to the Banner App on his phone to make a scrolling sign that stated “Can I have a figure please” that earned Marvel’s attention and got Brightboy an exclusive (not available in stores) Archangel action figure. A great victory!

As mentioned before, Hotshot headed to WonderCon in costume today. Fanboy Headquarters had a rowdy posse of friends in attendance with them this time around and two of them, Heather and Allyssa, joined Hotshot in the cosplay action. The three garnered lots of attention and compliments throughout the day. A special shout-out goes to Hotshot, Heather, and Allyssa for representing Fanboy Headquarters proudly! 

Black Widow, Steve Rogers, and Batgirl (a.k.a. Allyssa, Hotshot, and Heather)

And they were not the only people in costume today, there were hundreds of attendees dressed up as their favorite characters on site. Check out our photo album for some of the best we found.

Finally, our friend Allyssa came into possession of 2 VIP tickets to the Costume Masquerade event hosted at the end of the day. She was not able to enter the costume contest (due to some misguidance by an unnamed staffer <you know who you are!>) and so Allyssa decided  to share her 2 tickets with a father and son who were very far back in the long line to enter the event ballroom for the show. Instead they were able to get in ahead of the line with great seats and we hoped enjoyed the show. Very kind gesture Allyssa!

Sadly, tomorrow is the last day, but we will make the best of it. As always, follow Fanboy Headquarters for coverage on all of the events happening at WonderCon 2011!

Green Lantern Movie Panel - WonderCon 2011

It's a summer of superhero movies and that seemed to be on the mind of everyone at WonderCon day 1 seemed to be Green Lantern. I have never seen so many green superhero shirts in the same vicinity. And Warner Bros. knew they had a great audience to vet footage from their upcoming trailer and film for the all new Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard among many other big names. Moderated by Geoff Johns and including 2 of the films biggest stars Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. The footage was amazing and seemed to calm several of the doubting fans.
The footage shown was parts of the trailer that will be shown before the opening of the Thor movie coming out in the beginning of May. While Geoff Johns, co-producer on the project, said it was not the final cut of the trailer, there was a good 5 minutes of footage. WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!! to avoid the spoilers, ignore the red text below:

The clips started with Abin Sur attempting to communicate with Sinestro before the ship is attacked, by Parallax. The attack leaves Abin Sur mortally wounded and in an escape pod headed for Earth. Parallax looks alot like a yellow cloud crossed with the giant-bug-alien from the first Men In Black and completely infiltrated the ship. Next we cut to Hal Jordan finding Abin Sur and receiving the ring and instructions to activate the lantern. Back at home, Jordan attempts (with some humor) to unlock the lantern before being sorta hypnotized by the lantern to recite the Green Lantern Oath and be shot through space to the planet of Oa. Jordan meets Tomar Re (voiced by Geoffery Rush) and learns about his suit and powers then we get cut to Sinestro speaking to the Green Lantern Corps. (the entire corps. - several cameos!). The clip finished up with quick shots of the Hector Hammond, more Parallax, and Carol Ferris. 


Still here? Good! Needless to say, the trailer should help propel the movie to a box office success. After the footage and introduction of Reynolds and Lively, the Q&A portion was opened to the audiences. Lots of "I love you Ryans" and "You're great on Gossip Girl, Blake" were shared amongst questions. Alot of funny remarks and back and forths between the two stars as well about how cool it was to do stunts or how the body suit was like "a coffin with a zipper" in the August, Louisiana heat. Some of Reynold's best remark to questions were:

Q: Do/Did you read the comics?
Reynolds: "Yes, I'd be an asshole if I didn't"

Q: How do you think the large amount of superhero movies will affect Green Lantern?
Reynolds: What, you don't think people in this room are excited for all these movies? You think they're holding out for Black Swan 2?

Q: What's it like playing a villain like Deadpool and a good guy like Green Lantern, and which do you prefer?
Reynolds: First off, Deadpool isn't a villain, he's an asshole...

Another question led to Blake Lively talking about the possibility of playing Star Sapphire in a sequel She'd love to and would like to have a little more to the front of the costume (to which the audience booed) and would like the chance to beat up Ryan in a fight. Ryan added, "I'm pretty sure the name of the movie is Green Lantern and I'd win."

Reynolds was also asked to recite the Oath, but was reluctant and instead tried to get an audience participation recital of the famous statement. He started it, Geoff Johns helped a little and the audience came in at the very end to finish it off. I'm sure he is trying to avoid being asked that question for the rest of his career and save it for on screen only.

Overall very fun panel and a great way to promote the film which has not seen very much marketing due to the high amount of special effects involved and still being polished. Finally, another tidbit spun off from a question to Reynolds (that I've been waiting for official word on), Geoff Johns said that a Justice League movie is officially in development - not just a rumor anymore.

Check out photos from the panel and of the various posters throughout the exhibit hall floor on our web album and stay tuned to Fanboy Headquarters for more coverage from Wonder Con 2011!

Martin Bright, 4/1/2011

Wonder Woman: TV Series UPDATES 3/30/11

3/30/2011: The Daily Blam! released photos of filming of the new NBC pilot Wonder Woman today. The shots show an updated/altered version of the costume that was release over a week ago. The show is looking better and better with each new release of information. Let's see if it gets picked up! Check out the newest version of the costume below.

check out The Daily Blam! for more photos

The lack of shoulder straps on the costume top will probably still cause concern, but I think the red boots and alterations to the pants are much better. Looking forward to see footage from the show.

Check back to Fanboy Headquarters for more details on the all new heroine series.




3/18/2011: Entertainment Weekly has posted the first official photo of Adrianne Palicki in the new Wonder Woman costume. See the image below: 

Exclusive photo from EW.com

The costume pays homage to the comic book heroine's costume. The stars and stripes are missing but I like the relation to the comic book colors and signature lasso and bracelets. The series is currently working on the pilot for a hopeful Fall 2011 pick up. The show will also star Elizabeth Hurley and Cary Elwes. Stay linked in to Fanboy Headquarters for more updates and photos!

Captain America: Movie UPDATES 3/23/2011

32/23/2011: Marvel officially released the first Captain America movie trailer today! Check it out:

I think it looks great so far and I like that it has serious, action, and comedic tidbits. I'm a little concerned about how fake the skinny Chris Evans looks though, kind of looks like a 12 year old kid with a giant head (hopefully it was just the smaller screen I watching it on, the ratio will look much better at the theater, right?)

Stay tuned to Fanboy Headquarters for more details on the upcoming summer blockbuster!

The Wolverine: Movie UPDATES 3/17/2011

'Black Swan' director Darren Aronofsky is no longer attached to direct 'The Wolverine', the sequel to 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'. Aronofsky released the following statement:

 "As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of ‘The Wolverine’ would keep me out of the country for almost a year.  I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time.  I am sad that I won't be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again."

Twentieth Century Fox has stated that "Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making ‘The Wolverine’.  We will regroup and move forward aggressively."

Now that Aronofsky is not attached to the project, stay tuned for any updates and related news.

R.I.P. Michael Gough, original Batman movie actor passes away

Michael Gough, most commonly known for his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the original films has passed away at the age of 94. Gough's career spanned several decades and involved much more than aiding the Caped Crusader.

According to the International Movie Database, he had roles in Phantom of the Opera, The Avengers tv show, and several voice over parts - most recently a return to DC Comics in All Star Superman. Gough was one of only 2 actors who acted in all four of the original Batman movies - Pat Hingle, also starred in all four films as Commissioner Gordon, he passed away in 2009.

Michael Keaton and Michael Gough from Batman (1988) courtesy of movies.yahoo.com

While I thought the films got a little cartoony, I always found Gough to be a great Alfred! I often think back to the scenes of Alfred carrying a plate of freshly prepared food that Batman, or Robin in the last 2 films, turns down on their way out to save Gotham - reminds me all the time of the healthy food my parents used to push when I was running out the door for school or other adventures.

Martin Bright, 3.17.2011

Green Hornet Buzzes It’s Way To Number 1

The “Green Hornet” opened this weekend in the number one spot this weekend with $40 million in ticket sales.  The movie, which stars Seth Rogen (Super Bad, Pineapple Express) and Jay Chou (Curse of the Golden Flower) was supposed to open in theaters in the summer of 2010 but was pushed back to make time for the 3D conversion. Their was mixed thoughts about the movie based on its actors, action and 3D potential. Movie going audiences were the final judges on opening weekend though.


Seth Rogen portrays Britt Reid, the spoiled son of newspaper magnate James Reid. Britt spends his days and nights partying without a single care in the world. It is not until his father is is found dead that he comes to grip with reality and realizes that life isn’t just about parties. One morning after his father’s funeral. Britt meets Kato, his father’s mechanic. After getting to know Kato, Britt notices that Kato is very handy and can build many things. Realizing that crime is out of control in Los Angeles, they come up with the idea of the Green Hornet, a vigilante that helps fight crime by breaking the law. In doing this, they are able to infiltrate the criminal underworld and get information about all the illegal activity going on. Without giving too much of the story away, Green Hornet and Kato set off on a crazy adventure helping rid L.A. of illegal drugs.

After watching the movie, I can say that I was pleasantly impressed in the way the origin of the Green Hornet was presented. Seth Rogen, who is known for being mostly in comedic roles, does pretty well in his role of Britt Reid. Jay Chou, his Hollywood debut, was a refreshing addition to the cast with comedic chops rivaling those of Rogen and a great honoring of Bruce Lee’s former portrayal of Kato.The rest of the cast was well played, including Oscar winner Christopher Waltz and Cameron Diaz.
The ticket sales fall in line with projections set by movie execs. And the movie was left open to the possibility of a sequel. The technology and gadgets were also a lot of fun. For a January film release the Green Hornet should see great winter success.

Jose Soria, 1/18/11

The Cape arrives on NBC, will he stay?

Did you happen to catch the Cape on Sunday night? It is one of the new superhero shows that have been talked about for months, previewed and marketed at comic conventions, and meant to grab a piece of the superhero action that the big screen has been enjoying. I have to admit that this is my second attempt at writing about the show. I watched the first hour of the series premiere last week but after watching the second hour last night, I decided to revise my previous statement. You can check out a summary of the first episode here (be warned, there are spoilers).

The Pilot episode was made available to fans via the DC Comics Digital App last week and I eagerly checked it out. In the first hour I saw many different pieces of superhero shows of the past that it made my head spin. There was the Batman styling of the Cape’s dark hooded/caped appearance. And, when the Cape is talking to the kid Trip, he started with disguising his voice a little, a la Christian Bale’s the Dark Knight. Max Malini and the Carnival of Crime resembled a circus version of the Joker and his gang from the old Batman cartoons, complete with a woman that looked and sounded like the criminal clown’s squeeze, Harley Quinn. Orwell is this mysterious, well funded, technologically equipped hero-guide that is reminiscent of Eyes Only/Logan Cale from the show Dark Angel. The show is shot well and using that comic book look a lot like NBC’s previous show, Heroes and has the musical scoring of a hero movie/show. The first episode was definitely an origin story with a lot of information given and some plot holes left open for the show to potentially build on. At first glance, I thought the show jumped around, had some fun and funny parts, an interesting group of characters, but I did not finish the show suspenseful, wanting to know what was going to happen next. The guy wore a hood and cape that didn’t really hide his face all too well, and Faraday’s face was plastered over papers and television after his very public demise. No one was going to figure out its Faraday? These days a hood does not equal Clark Kent’s glasses. Orwell’s character will serve well as a partner for the Cape, especially with her technological resources. The Carnival of Crime’s illusions make for interesting “super powers” for the Cape, but there was no explanation as to how they work. And the Cape is very clearly, CGI. After the disappointing falling and eventual canceling of Heroes, I expected a higher level from NBC.


Like I said, first hour, a little disappointing then came the second hour and I must say, it was very redeeming to me. There were masks, another big baddie, a lair, and then more questions. Without revealing too much, the Cape is shelved by Max after the hero almost dies. Surviving, Vince leaves the Carnival of Crime to pursue his goals solo. On his own, he finds and develops a lair, continues to train himself (one aspect in a very interesting way) and also starts to research his newest foe, Chess’ hired gun, Cain. He also makes a mask to use in the absence of the caped costume to help prevent Patrick Portman, a Palm City official from being bumped off. With Orwell and a renewed confidence from Max, the Cape saves the day. Along the way Orwell and the Cape discover that a criminal organization known as Tarot (the title of the episode) has their hands in the crime of Palm City. Back at the Faraday home, there is drama with the still grieving widow and son of our hero, when Vince’s ex-buddy, Marty starts to reveal details of the investigation that is further blaming Vince Faraday for the Chess’ crimes and Mrs. Faraday starts to use her maiden name to try and get jobs to start caring for her smaller family. The second hour still had a lot of clichés from other superhero stories (closing scene shows the Cape perched on a rooftop overlooking the city …cough…cough…BATMAN!…cough) but overall I was intrigued to find out who Tarot is and how they’re involved. Also, what are Vince’s medals for and why was he apprehensive to share that part of his past? The Chess has clearly been established as Arch-Nemesis and did I mention the hero finally gets a MASK!!! Additionally there were nice touches of detective work, family drama scenes (some more flashbacks of the Faradays), the action was fairly decent albeit short, and we still have no clue who Orwell really is. (Check out the second episode summary here – SPOILERS).

Do I think this series will be a hit? I think it is too early to tell. I judged this show pretty harshly after the first episode but then was proven to be too hasty on my opinion by the second episode. While I like the show’s cast members (Summer Glau, Keith David, James Frain, Vinnie Jones, Richard Schiff to name a few), I do not think the actors or dialogue will win many awards just yet but maybe as plot lines develop and expand, the performances will improve. The show also

The Cape – Tarot – Episode 2 Summary

Episode 2 of the Cape aired as the second hour of the series premiere, titled Tarot. The Cape is continuing his fight to bring down Chess/Peter Fleming and his ARK Corporation. In this episode, ARK is attempting to take over the Palm City Prison System but one man is standing in the way, Secretary of the Bureau of Prisons, Patrick Portman. The Cape must defeat Chess’ newest help (might I call him the new “knight?” You know, like the chess game piece? No? Ok), Cain, a well trained assassin that uses poison and save the day. And on the Faraday family front, mother and son are having issues moving on.


On the successes of defeating Chess at the docks, the Cape breaks into Peter Flemings apartment to do some reconnaissance on who is foe is after now, Patrick Portman. When his presence is realized and Fleming tries to play coy about being Chess, Cain takes down the Cape with a poisoned throwing knife. Fleming monologues about the lack of a challenge the hero is as the Cape’s life starts to fade. To avoid the discovery of his identity and then inevitable harming of his family, the Cape jumps out the window of Fleming’s high rise loft. Luckily, Orwell had followed him and gets him to the Carnival of Crime at Trolley Park after a brief run in and escape from Cain. Using leeches and a dangerous antidote; they are able to save Vince.

During their escape, Orwell notices a tattoo of a Tarot card on Cain’s arm that leads her to believe a criminal organization is part of the crime wave that is going on in Palm City. Meanwhile, Faraday’s wife, Dana, and son are having troubles of their own at home. Marty, Vince’s ex-buddy and agent of ARK, shares more information on the investigation of Vince that shows more information about the accusations that he was Chess. Distraught, Dana starts applying for jobs using her maiden name to avoid the fallout of using the Faraday name which upsets Trip. Since his visit with the Cape, the son’s is adamant of his father’s innocence and is ashamed of his mom’s actions. The situation kicks off a flashback explaining the Faraday family history – Faraday’s have been in Palm City for over 200 years, and all the men of the family were honorable men who fought in wars and worked in law enforcement. Additionally, Dana looks at a can left behind by Vince that is full of commendation medals for missions completed in her husband’s pre-married past; missions that he never explains to her because “she might now like who he was.”

After awaking recuperated, Max tells Vince that there will be no more Cape because he is not ready to be a hero. He offers Vince train tickets to flee Palm City with his wife and son, to disappear and live new lives elsewhere. Naturally, Faraday turns him down and vows to keep fighting, cape or no cape. Walking the streets, Vince finds a lair and continues training to become a hero. One of his training plans is to be able to defeat his new foe’s knife throwing skill, by launching blades at himself  with a customized baseball pitching machine – turns out to be more dangerous than he planned, but he continues practicing. He also starts to do research on poisons and how to build immunity and cure the toxins that Cain uses. Finally, the hero makes himself a mask to use while he figures out a way of outfitting himself with a new caped get-up and begins going after street thugs to figure out Cain’s plan for killing Patrick Portman (well played by Richard Schiff of The West Wing fame). The Secretary of the Bureau of Prisons bravely stands up against the ARK Corporation knowingly fearing that he is putting himself in danger. His bravery, encourages the Cape and earns the hero’s protection. Receiving his costume back from Max and aided by Orwell, the Cape tracks down Cain on his mission to kill Portman and take down this week’s “big baddie.” Fleming who was attending dinner with Portman during the attempted assassination and runs to the kitchen to find his henchman knocked out and tied up for authorities. Foiled again by the Cape, Chess now sees he has a worthy adversary. The Cape, realizing that he can take the fight to Chess and with the successful stopping of ARK from taking over the prisons by Portman, is re-energized to watch over Palm City and bring down the evil that is corrupting his town.

The Cape – Pilot – Episode 1 Summary

The show started with a two hour start on NBC last night, broken down into two episodes: the Pilot and Tarot. The series is a typical good versus evil story set in a modern day, fictional city – Palm City. The city has suffered from an increased crime wave and at the center is a master criminal by the name of Chess. The local police department is plagued with rogue cops also believed to be adding to the crime sprees and these cops are being outed by Orwell (played by the beautiful Summer Glau) via a blog and high-tech hijackings. Our hero is one of the good cops, Vince Faraday (David Lyons), a born and raised Palm City patriot with a loving wife and a son he shares a passion for The Cape comic books with.

In the start, Vince is recruited by a friend, Marty, to join a corporation, ARK, pushing to create the first private, American metropolitan police force, among other security changes in the city. After the new Chief of Police is murdered on his watch, with the aid of bad cops, Vince decides to join ARK led by Peter Fleming. Orwell, who’s been apparently following Faraday’s career, sees this as a bad move and taps into his computer to show him some of the things ARK is not so well known for, like smuggling chemical weapons. When Vince finds ARK’s latest shipment of Pammy-Pees dolls (no joke) stuffed with L-9 Chemical explosives, Marty and ARK forces capture him and bring him to Chess (portrayed by True Blood’s Peter Frain), who happens to be Peter Fleming. The criminal master has set up Vince to take the blame for Chess’s transgressions, even going as far as to staple the Chess mask to his head. Vince on the run in a train yard being chased by ARK security forces catches the media’s eye and is broadcast live to the world, including his family. Faraday is named as Chess and is shown being blown up by an explosion in the train yard. ARK has brought down Chess and a thankful Palm City Mayor offers ARK the police contract.

Enter more criminals, known as the Carnival of Crime a group of circus trained performers who like to rob banks that find Faraday in a tunnel under the train yard, barely alive.  The Carnival of Crime hope that the supposed Chess can help them rake in some more dough only to be disappointed at the discovery that he is a cop and they decide to off him. Fortunately, Vince still has his access card to ARK security systems that allows the bank robbers to easily go on the take and they decide to keep him around. Dealing with the loss of his life, family and reputation Vince contemplates how to bring down Chess/Fleming and show his son that he did not do the things he’s accused of when he notices a cape in the circus prop room – he could use the cape to take on the persona of he and his son’s favorite comic book and a hero is born. In addition to robbing banks, the Carnival of Crime, led by Max Malini (Keith David, an actor with a great personality and voice for the character), are capable of hypnotizing people, disappearing into thin air, hand to hand combat and other magic-like illusions. Max agrees to help train Vince in all the illusions and help him to become the Cape, even provides a fancy hooded cape costume for the new hero. After learning to use his cape as a weapon (grabbing guns and people and throwing them around) and mastering disappearing and hypnotic illusions, Vince is ready to take on Chess’ latest smuggling operation.

The Cape’s first fight, against Scales (a deformed giant of a man that looks like he has snake skin played by Vinnie Jones) ends up with Faraday wrapped in chains at the bottom of the ocean. Using his illusionist skills, the Cape escapes. Back on the mission, Orwell and the Cape cross paths. Orwell is revealed to be a young woman fighting to bring ARK down by revealing Peter Fleming’s secret operations and known accomplices. After Orwell discovers that Vince is the Cape, the two decide to team up to bring down ARK and Chess. When Chess nabs Max for robbing ARK protected banks, the Cape heads back to Chess’ base of operations to take down the criminal again. This time around Vince squares off against Chess himself, but the foe quickly retreats after helicopters begin to ascend on the scene that will reveal Chess still being alive and Orwell jams his ability to blow up the illegal chemical explosives that ARK Corporation smuggled into the city.

The first hour concludes with two scenes. First, the Cape giving Vince’s son, Trip, a message that his dad was framed and the hero will bring the guilty to justice. Second, Vince is out shopping when the store he is in is held up at gunpoint. Vince pulls his hood on (that he’s wearing under his clothes) to transform to his alter ego, the Cape and save the day. The saved clerk asks about the hero’s name and then says, “You’ll work on it.”

The Blog formerly known as Brightboy Adventures

A centralized place for all things comic book related. A Base of Operations. A Headquarters, if you will.

A place where all Fanboys and Fangirls are welcomed regardless of their size, status, superpowers, or if they like DC/Marvel/Dark Horse/Image/IDW or any number of the great publishers and independent publications out there.

We will have: News on comic books, movies and television shows, video games. Coverage from Comic Conventions, Shows, and Expos. Retail announcements and much more.

This is a new venture by 2 big comic book fans and we figured what better time to start than the new year. We are still in the progress of constructing the site and will have features added often so bookmark us and come back often. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for quick updates. For those of you that have followed us here from Brightboy Adventures, thank you for your support and we look forward to your continued membership with us.

2011 San Diego Comic Con Passes Go On Sale......... And Then The Servers Crash..

On November 1, 2010 at 9 a.m. PST, 2011 San Diego Comic Con passes went on sale. For the first time in SDCC history, both 4-day and single day passes went on sale at the same time. Anxious fanboys and girls flooded the SDCC website and caused the servers to crash. SDCC officials closed registration and posted an apology on their website saying that registration is postponed until they can find the cause of the registration crash. They will announce a new date for registration to commence on Nov. 8th.

RED comes to theaters 10/15/10

If you're a Fanboy, chances are you have heard of Warren Ellis' comic book series RED. And if you haven't been living under a rock in the last six months then you have probably heard about the new Bruce Willis led cast of the new RED movie. Brightboy Adventures got to sit in on an early screening of the film. While I have not read the books (sorry Mr. Ellis, i have already ordered them and they are on their way), I found the movie to be a great film and after seeing the cast of the film at the San Diego Comic Con this past summer, I can understand what they meant when it was said they "had a lot of fun" making the film. Check out the review below.

You do not need to be a follower of the RED comic book series to see this film; the film stands out on its own. There is action, comedy, romance, and then lots more action and comedy. If you think you know the whole story from watching the previews and clips that are out there, then you're DEAD wrong. The film has very little, if any, down time; the plot has great continuity. This performance combines Bruce Willis' action side (Die Hard style) with his comedic side (The Whole 9 Yards humor, not Cop Out). Morgan Freeman gets a chance to get out of his element as the good morals guy and have a little fun. Helen Mirren brings grace and excellence to being a cold-hearted killer. Mary-Louise Parker's character brings out her gorgeous smile and crazy-adventure-seeker personality out. Karl Urban puts on his big boy pants to be the bad ass FBI agent he is in the film. And finally, John Malkovich is John Malkovich.

Check out RED in theaters this Friday, October 15. The comic book has been re-released as a graphic novel in stores and online now.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse World Premiere

Brightboy Adventures was lucky enough to get into the World Premiere of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse at the Paley Center for the Media in Beverly Hills. UGO.com, Warner Home Video, and DC Entertainment hosted the evening for the cast and fans to take the first official glimpse of the next DVD in the DC Animation films. The film did not disappoint and included a lot of “new shticks” (as Executive Producer Bruce Timm called them) from our favorite DC superheroes.

The film is based on Superman Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner’s original work in Superman/Batman: Supergirl and the film material stayed pretty close to the original work. Naturally the transition from graphic novel to DVD does call for some changes, the production was able to stick close with artwork and storyline. This time around the Big Blue Boy Scout and the Caped Crusader have changed a little in this “semi-sequel” to Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Batman still doesn’t see the good in people and has suspicions in the sudden appearance of Kara Zor-El, also known as Supergirl for the layman. Superman is looking thinner and is very overprotective of his newly arrived cousin, the only family and fellow Kryptonian he has. Kara is having issues controlling her powers and finding her place in the world. She wants to be a normal Earth girl, but Superman’s friends believe she is a big liability - Wonder Woman comes to take Kara (initially against her will) to Paradise Island to help her learn to control her abilities and Batman agrees. Superman eventually falls in line with his fellow heroes and Kara comes to terms with it and takes on the training. Darkseid is in search for a new leader for his Female Furies and he sets his Omega Effect eyes on Supergirl! The film also includes cameos by Granny Goodness (perfectly voiced by Ed Asner), Artemis, the Harbinger, Kryto, Doomsday, and Big Barda. There are intense battle scenes, “kryptonese” dialogue and some occasional laughs (some major comedic relief is provided by Batman!!).

During the Q&A session, Director Lauren Montgomery alluded to the title of the movie and why it was changed to Apocalypse from Supergirl; mentioning that their Wonder Woman film did not have great sales stats and so movies with women as the main character won’t get to go far (getting Supergirl on the cover was even a battle). And though female characters don’t sell DVDs well, this film is full of stong-willed and well balanced (albeit scantily clad) women. Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Artemis, Lyla/Harbinger, Granny Goodness, the Female Furies, Big Barda and an army of Amazons dominated scenes and held their own with Superman, Batman and Darkseid. The look of Supergirl was spot-on with her graphic novel appearance. It’s unfortunate that the opinion of female driven stories is so negative, but Bruce Timm and Lauren Montgomery have done a great job of still making the female hero a strong character and hopefully the marketing will draw in the female fanbase.

After the screening of the film there was a short Q&A with Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery, Andrea Romano (Casting Director/voice of Stompa), Tab Murphy (Screenplay), Tim Daly (voice of Superman), Susan Eisenberg (voice of Wonder Woman), and Rachel Quaintance (voice of Lyla/Harbinger and Artemis). Tim Daly discussed his personal likeness to Batman and how much he noticed Superman had cut back on the “carbs” this time around. Susan Eisenberg talked about how much stronger Wonder Woman has gotten over the years that she has voiced the character. The entire panel recognized how tremendous of a job Andrea Romano does casting the voice talent and how great a person she is to work for. Andrea Romano said that getting Andre Braugher to voice Darkseid was a wish come true and Ed Asner was so great to work with. The biggest news of the Q&A came from Bruce Timm though. He announced the next three films in the DC Animated DVD series. The first two, All-Star Superman and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights were announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2010. Timm commented that All-Star Superman is “already in the can” and just awaiting release in 2011. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be similar to the previously released Batman: Gotham Knight with several different stories told over a linking story arc. There will be approximately six stories told about different members of the Lantern corps., including Kilowag, Sinestro, and Abin Sur. The 3^rd film got its “official” confirmation from Bruce Timm last night, Batman: Year One. Timm said that the film will stick very closely to the Frank Miller graphic novel; Batman will not have all the gadgets and muscles that he is known for in modern storylines and films. All three films should be great additions to the DC DVD library.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse will be released September 28^th on Blu-ray and DVD. Every fanboy (and girl) should check it out. A special thanks to UGO.com for the opportunity to see the premiere and meet the cast and crew.

Brightboy Adventures w/ Tim Daly

Brightboy Adventures w/ Bruce Timm