Marvel Invests in Wifebeater Stocks for '08.

Gray skies ahead for the Hulk...

Well, gray skintones at least, according to recent rumors from Marvel heads. But gray skies should be involved as well. And rain. Hulk Shower!

-Vincenz

"Lowered Expecta-a-tions...."

Alright, so a couple months ago we got that friggin' awesome Fantastic Four 2 trailer, right? Wedding of Reed and Sue, Ben somehow crying (is that a brow I see? No, he still looks like a crowning baby), even Chris Evans' Johnny Storm getting a legitimately in-character (and funny) joke to lighten the seriousness of the situation: the arrival of the Silver Surfer. The effin' Silver Surfer, people, and he looks great in these early shots. This short two minute trailer is better than anything the first movie even THOUGHT of offering...and then I began to notice what this meant. With the arrival of the the Surfer, there's no doubt that Galactus could be far behind, right?

Right?

Wrong, dammit. Well not exactly, but might as well be...

Galactus has had a couple incarnations in the comic books, and each has been original and interesting enough to warrant a chance in the movie. In both, the surfer arrives as a herald of the coming disaster. In the classic Marvel Universe, we have Galactus the planet-eater, a being the size of a galaxy who could crush the earth in his hand like a tennis ball. The Ultimate Universe brought us Galactus the infestation, millions of bug-like entities (modeled in honor of the Classic Galactus' unique helmet) that swarm a planet and eat it from the inside out. And according to early reports, Fantastic Four 2 bring us Galactus the...storm cloud? What?

A storm cloud. With a voice. Probably booming.

What a mess.

As I worry more about the fate of this movie, I'll leave you with a fantasy of what could've been...



-Vincenz

"Only After Disaster Can We Be Resurrected" -Tyler Durden

At least that's what Marvel hopes. With such spot on casting choices such as Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, Ben Affleck as Daredevil, and David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury, the House of Ideas can't always crank out winners. But Marvel is obviously trying to correct prior wrongs with some recent decisions, such as Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. But their most recent choice is both effin' amazing and slightly unnerving at the same time.

It's pretty clear that Marvel treats its movie franchises on two separate tiers. We have the Spider-Man, the X-Men, and even the Blade films receiving preferential treatment, while the Daredevils, Punishers, and Ghost Riders are shat upon. (And then there's Howard the Duck - I'm still holding out for the remake, I really think a CG Howard would really add to the deep emotional gravitas of the character). But stuck somewhere in Purgatory is Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk.

Ang Lee's Hulk was a high-concept blockbuster art house studio independent mess. How hard could it be to turn one of Marvel's simplest characters into an entertaining movie? Bruce Banner experiments, Bruce Banner fucks up, Bruce Banner Hulks, and Hulk Smashes. Simple as that. Please. Ang Lee tried to add a touch of spirituality and greater sense of meaning to the film, but why? We don't need this metaphysical redemption shit, the is he or isn't he dead cloud of energy ending. Eric Bana as Bruce? A laudable actor, but a little too chiseled and suave for the geeky, depressive mess that is Banner. And the Hulk himself? Looks fantastic in stills, like a train wreck in motion. The guy weighs a couple tons, for God's sake, when he lands on the ground the earth should shatter. We should feel every step when he runs, but instead he prances like a fucking ballerina. Honestly, get some animators that have studied weight distribution and physics, it's an insult to people who don't even know the basics of animation.

But the franchise is getting a reboot. Not a sequel, thankfully, but an honest to God second chance. New writer (David S. Goyer of Blade and Batman Begins fame), new director (Louis Leterrier (the dog), Transporter director), new story, and most importantly, a new Bruce:



Ed Norton (Fight Club, The Illusionist) could be a great choice for the scrawny, nerdy Bruce Banner if we really want to (and I really want to) explore his depression and building insanity at his inability to control his transformation, but again, we still have to worry about the Hulk himself. The action set pieces can only do so much to balance out the drama that Ed Norton will infuse into the role of Banner, but I'd like to see the Hulk have a little more character himself. Hulk speak! Hulk know words! Hulk want dialogue! Hopefully this new story is worth the effort, because I'd love to see Marvel succeed at resurrecting this franchise (and make the Hulk gray...much cooler).

-Vincenz

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"Edward Norton is a rare talent and one of the most versatile actors in the business. His ability to transform into a particular role makes him the ideal choice to take on the character of Bruce Banner/The Hulk." - Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President of Production

You see what he did there? He equated Ed Norton's ability to transform for roles to the Hulk's transformation. That guys a smooth-smoothie!

So does this mean we can all look forward to more of these?



- Rob Society

He Lives! He Walks! He Conquers!

So it's old news that Jon Favreau has made one of the best casting decisions ever by picking substance abusing millionaire Robert Downey, Jr. to play substance abusing billionaire Tony Stark in next May's Iron Man movie. But now we have a sweet confirmation that the ball is rolling (in the right direction, too) in the form of this first image.



This is most likely his first attempt at designing the suit before upgrading to the red and gold. It's modeled after the original Iron Man design from his first outing in Marvel's Tales of Suspense in 1963.



Annnd needless to say, it looks fuckin awesome.

- Rob Society