Tag: Iron Man

Ruminations on storytelling, heroes and comic book worlds as encouraged by “Iron Man 2”

I saw “Iron Man 2” last night, and while it’s not a groundbreaking landmark in filmmaking history, I thought it was a darn good action flick. I laughed, I thrilled to the excitement, I got pumped up and I even got a little emotional, but most importantly, I left happy.

Iron Man 2

However, I think the most interesting—and encouraging—thing “Iron Man 2” did for me happened after I left the theater. The film had actively engaged my nerd brain to the point where I ended up turning over numerous thoughts about the character of Iron Man and, furthermore, the universe he resides in before branching out to comparisons between other fictional worlds. That’s the mark of a good comic flick, in my estimation. It gets you excited to think about superheroes again.
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What ongoing comic series should I begin collecting as graphic novels?

A while back, I asked for suggestions on how to keep up with comics in a price effective way. In the few comments and conversations I had about the subject, the answer came back resoundingly that reading comics once they are collected is cheaper (Math I could do on my own, but glad to get some feedback as well) and just as satisfying, especially as it allows you to avoid a majority of the crap that hits stands.
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Sam Rockwell should play Hank Pym!

If you’ve heard the rumors about “Iron Man 2,” then I’m sure you’re coming up with theories or rants depending on how you feel about Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell being brought onto the movie.

Personally, I think going with another armor-clad villain in the second flick—it’s speculated Rourke will be Crimson Dynamo—is a mistake and I’d much rather see the Mandarin or Fin Fang Foom—or some other crazy, non-technology based villain—face off against ol’ Shellhead. Either way, Sam Rockwell’s role is supposedly that of rival industrialist Justin Hammer, which I hope is a front for a much cooler role. “What role?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell you!

I think Sam Rockwell is perfect for the role of Hank Pym. Just look at him!



He’s a legit leading man with the charisma and look to pull off one of Marvel’s oldest heroes, plus he’s got the chops to make Pym into a pretty dynamic character by capturing his heroism and charm alongside his faults: the jealously at being the world’s third smartest hero (behind Reed Richards and Tony Stark), the arrogance of a young inventor who dared to create a being like Ultron and the checkered past of an abusive husband.


Seventies Pym with his first version of Ultron?! Possibly!

Plus, if an Ant Man solo flick is in the works, you need a big name to put on that. Sam Rockwell is a little too big for a bit part in “Iron Man 2,” but if it’s a setup role for a solo flick that introduces people to the character before he spins off, well that’d be great! And I mean, who else are you really going to cast as Ant Man? He’s a little too goofy to do a film about him without a heaping helping of humor and putting some beefcake in the role is just not going to fly.


Rockwell in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy” and the helmeted Ant Man…pretty much the same thing!

Couldn’t you see Rockwell easily pulling off these two polarizing moments from the founding Avenger’s past?





I’m not really sure what Marvel would want in an Ant Man film, but I think casting an actor who can bring real humor and real depth to the role of Hank Pym—like Rockwell could—would allow them to present Pym as a fun-loving and suave character or, if they were looking fro another route from his comics history, they could play him as a dark and troubled hero. With Rockwell they really could do either. It’s win-win!

So, you heard it here first: Sam Rockwell is going to be Hank Pym (or at least he should be!).

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[DVD REVIEW] “The Incredible Hulk”

Marvel Studios second big DVD of the year—”The Incredible Hulk”—is definitely a big piece of multimedia worthy of Green Genes legacy, but much like it’s theater outing, it doesn’t quite match up to “Iron Man.”

Where “Iron Man” boasted special features that looked as though they’d received as much love and consideration as the feature presentation, “Hulk’s” special fair feels tagged on and falls short in comparison. Be it the half-length “Making of…” feature (30 minutes as compared to “Iron Man’s” hour) or the lack of an extensive character history in the comics feature with numerous creator interviews (Instead of “Iron Man’s” compelling hour-long look at the history of Iron Man comics, it only features an animatic of a scene from eph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Hulk: Gray), “Hulk” isn’t bad, but just isn’t as good.

What “Hulk’s” DVD does deliver is a plethora of deleted scenes that give fans insight into the Edward Norton/Marvel Studios feud and rumors that surrounded the film’s release. With a brief alternate opening and about 40 minutes of footage that wasn’t seen on the big screen, fans can get a look at Edward Norton’s vision of “Hulk.” Disappointingly, every deleted scene is used for character exploration and none feature any Hulking out (which does make sense, considering effects budgets…but still!). While a few offer fun backstory (Banner’s time spent in Tibet and subtle references to Captain America), the main insight taken away from viewing these scenes is that Marvel Studios made an extremely smart move by removing 40 minutes of non-Hulk footage from the feature. These additional scenes definitely display Ed Norton’s complete understanding of the character and comic, but would have made for a very long and boring film even with all the theatrical release’s amazing Hulk-outs!

The featurettes in this special edition are great, especially seeing how Edward Norton and Tim Roth brought their CG counterparts to life, but the lackluster “Making of…” featurette really made me wish director Louis Letterier or Norton had taken a more vested interest in it like Jon Favreau did on “Iron Man.” Favreau’s cooperation and great enthusiasm for capturing the production and process of the film on tape made for an amazing, hour-long documentary. “Hulk’s” main documentation of this is standard, 30 minute fair and an enjoyable watch, but after seeing what it could have been in “Iron Man,” it left me wanting.

Lastly, the billing of this special edition DVD as a three-disc set is a bit misleading. Sure, it technically has three discs, but one of them is just a digital copy of the film. So, for all intensive purposes it is a two-disc special edition featuring a digital copy. That, and the overly complex DVD menus that focus on looks instead of user-friendliness, are my only real gripes on the technical issues of the package.

Overall, “Incredible Hulk” was a great movie well worth owning on DVD, but it’s special features don’t make much more of a compelling argument to pick it up. There’s definitely plenty worth watching on this three-disc set’s second disc, but DVD enthusiasts will likely be let down by how much more could have been added to sweeten the pot on this special edition.

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[DVD REVIEW] “Iron Man”

As if you really needed a reason to go out and buy “Iron Man” on DVD (check out my review of the flick here if you are curious why the movie is so awesome), I decided to give the special features a look and just reaffirm the obvious need for purchase of this incredibly rad summer blockbuster.

As a big fan of special features, “Iron Man” isn’t lacking in the slightest. The seven-part “Making of” documentary not only provides some amazing insight into the film, but does something I really wish more DVDs would do: put each aspect of the film into a chronological recap of the production. I hate when I have to click over to another featurette and sit through 15 boring minutes of interviews to gain the three I needed to learn about the making of the Iron Man suit. Blending all of these aspects together and taking the viewer from the first day of production to the final editing process was truly a treat to watch.

However, the real thing that set this documentary apart—as its good production quality and chronological nature don’t really place it too far ahead of other DVDs—is director Jon Favreau’s enthusiastic participation in the whole thing. Not only do you get to see Favreau morph from a hefty, bearded bear of a man to a svelte, clean-shaven Happy Hogan, but Favreau introduces most every part of the documentary at each location and even others up his anxieties and excitement about the film’s production in numerous interviews. His commitment to the film definitely shined through on the big screen and his commitment to “Iron Man” in its entirety—DVD and all—really puts this DVD’s headlining feature far above anything I’ve seen delivered in comic book movie special features so far.

The DVD also features a fun and interesting six-part look at the comic history of Iron Man and features interviews and insight on the Iron Avenger from legends like Gerry Conway and Gene Colan, and more recent scribes like Warren Ellis and Charlie and Daniel Knauf. It’s a great refresher course with loads of interesting things from creators for the big Iron Fan and a nice history for the newbie to ol’ Shellhead’s Marvel legacy.

The deleted scenes are best watched after the documentary, in my opinion, because insight into the making of the film is helpful when viewing the additional footage. The scenes were definitely deleted for good reason, as they all seem like they would have been extremely out of place in the movie, but really instills faith in Favreau for “Iron Man 2” as you can see some goofy party scenes in Dubai—which, BONUS!, do feature the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah—hit the cutting room floor.

It was a DVD already well worth buying, and the special features deliver hours of additional enjoyment for anyone who loved “Iron Man.”

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For love or money?

So, just a little Con anecdote in between the massive amount of stories to post…

I took a quick break to say some hellos and shake some hands out on the show floor, among them was Frank Supiot over at Iron Man statue premiere.

Anyway, we were chatting about some cool Koto stuff coming up on WU.com (stay tuned), the Con and comic books when a customer came up to ask about a 1/4 sized Final Fantasy Cloud statue.

Now, this wouldn’t have been that out of the ordinary—as almost everyone who came up to the booth asked about the statue—but this fella wasn’t just curious, he wanted it: he was a buyer. The price of his desired item? $400.

I stood and watched as Frank opened the package for the customer’s inspection.

The curious consumer liked what he saw, scrounged up $400 cash and bought the item on the spot.

Now, I’ll be straight with you folks. I find it hard to push myself over the edge to buy a $20 DVD and even harder to make the commitment to drop $50 on a video game. Sure, there’s a ton of great stuff for sale at any Con, but I usually wind up seeing loads of cool stuff and asking, “Do I really need or want that?” which is almost always answered by, “Ya know? If I really do, I’ll seek it out later.” So, to see someone step up, check out the merchandise and in the course of 15 minutes decide that he definitely wanted to drop 400 big ones on an item…well, it was kind of awesome to see!

It was a reminder that Cons can—and should—be a place for all of us with nerdy obsessions to go a bit nuts as consumers and buy stuff that may seem crazy to others but makes complete sense to us. It was almost inspiring to see someone so fully exemplify that mentality…in fact, it was inspiring!

Mark my words, I’ll forsake my I’ll-get-it-later-if-I-want-it-that-bad attitude and splurge a bit on something this weekend. Be it t-shirt, trade paperback or toy…I will make a purchase!

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