Comic Con Marvel Round Up 2014

When it comes to Comic Con the biggest players in the comic book world gather in Hall H of San Diego's annual convention to weigh in on what fan's can expect to see this coming year and plans that take us from infinity and into the beyond.

Marvel started out the weekend with a announcement prior to the convention regarding a mysterious new figure who is worthy of the hammer of Thor. This new power player is a Female and will take on the power of Thor for a unknown amount of time. Details remain foggy at best as to why the new Avenger is taking Thor's place and what happens to our beloved Asgardian. Marvel is keeping tight lipped on the subject explaining that fan's will have to wait and see to find out what the hell is going on. Along that train of thought Marvel announced the next hero to don the mantel of Captain America will be the Falcon, as far as the cinematic universe goes its a completely different world to the comics and fans are concerned as to how this will effect the stories we know and love, though for now time will only tell.

At the Avengers: Age of Ultron panel, Marvel announced that plans for a Ultron Sequel are already

int he works, Along with announcements that Guardians of The Galaxy will also be receiving a sequel. While footage of Age of Ultron has not yet leaked to the internet (as far as I can tell that it is). We have been treated to a sample of leaked test footage for what would have been a Deadpool featured film starring Ryan Gosling. The public outcry for such a film to be made has been more then enthusiastic and perhaps Marvel will hear the cry of its fans and listen. The footage starts out with our favorite Merc with The Mouth sitting on a roadway colouring a picture and talking to himself. (Thank you fourth wall awareness). When his targets drive under neath him he smashed through the sun roof in classic Deadpool style and proceeds to assassinate them all. The clip is action packed, well done, and full of humor that we can expect from Wade Wilson. Rumor has it that Gosling has divorced himself from the role of Deadpool following the botched attempt at giving the character life in Xmen Origins.

Following the recent divorce between members of the cast and directing crew for Marvel's Ant Man, Marvel announced a July 17, 2015 release date though the prospects for this film are less then stellar. Having gone through three directors and several actors since this film hit the production line fans are concerned with how this film will turn out though Marvel press agents remain extremely optimistic on the topic.

Marvel's first real foray into the small screen, with Agents of SHIELD has been quite successful ever since the Captain America Winter Solider tie in episodes aired (no spoilers, haven't gotten to watch it yet!). At the Agents of Shield panel this past weekend the cast excitedably announced a new face will be joining-Lucy Lawless better known as Xena Warrior princess will be stepping back into the lime light-in to play a veteran Shield agent who is described as tough and not to be messed with.

After a hectic weekend for fans across the globe, those lucky

enough to attend Marvel panels weighed in on twitter and other forms of social media as always voicing there support for the comic world super power that is Marvel. The test footage that was shown and clips of all future projects have left the crowd begging for more, as for those of us who were unlucky enough to spend the weekend working or stuck at home, we have the enthusiasm of the entire fandom to thank as we look forward to what is to come.









Thats all for now guys, next time we'll talk about the breaking news from DC comics. Live long and Prosper nerds.

~Nicole

And We Are Back

Hey Agents so its been awhile since I last put fingers to keys, two new jobs and getting ready to return to school in a month tends to put a damper on free time! Going to try and get back into the swing of writing and hopefully Jon and I will be able to bring you the best of what we've seen out in the nerdy world. We have a lot of great articles coming for you guys so keep your eyes open because only the good stuff is coming.

~Nicole

The Flash Pilot-Review

*This review is Spoiler Free* 

A few days ago The CW's anticipated new show The Flash had its pilot leaked to the internet, and while its copyrighted material CW didn't seem like it was in a hurry to clean up the mess. So just ten minutes ago my Boyfriend whom is a longtime Flash fan and I sat down to watch the episode. We were pleasantly surprised, while many details were wrong, they did so many things just so right. Grant Gustin, the actor behind the fastest man alive brought Barry Allen to life the best he could. Though a fair warning to comic book fans the show is following The New Earth story behind Barry's life which includes Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse Flash turning his life upside down in a way older fans may not entirely like. 

Barry's suit is not so true to the Flash we know and love, this suit is a much darker red and feels more like a leather motorcycle suit then the one we are accustomed too. Assisted by his new friend Cisco a lab assistant from STAR Labs, barry is gifted the suit when he decides to protect his city from the threat that is 'meta humans'. 

When Barry feels a loss of purpose he goes to his now brother in arms, Oliver Queen for some help, offering Arrow fan's a small glimpse of there favorite hero back in his hood protecting his city with bow in hand. 

While the episode was fantastic you will be left with a feeling that things were a little rushed, as if they were attempting to divulge as much information as they could within the hour time constraint. Putting that detail aside, other than some change of details and some information that seemed rather different, the Pilot was a good layup for what should be an amazing season with a new unique comic book hero series. If you love anything to do with The Flash this is most certainly the show for you. 

The Flash Pilot

~Nicole

Marvel Round Up: Update on Ant-Man AND Thanos Revealed!

Yeesh, Marvel's sure been in the news a whole lot lately. What with Edgar Wright dropping out of Ant-Man and X-Men making a killing at the box office, it seems that the comic giant has a lot for going it. Just recently, two more Marvel tidbits were announced, one an update on why Wright left Ant-Man and the shortlist for his replacements plus the announcement of who will play Thanos!

In terms of Ant-Man, it has been confirmed that Wright dropped out of Ant-Man due to major clashes over the script with higher ups at Disney and Marvel. Wright was nearly finished with pre production when the higher ups at Marvel and Disney sent down a script that was bogged with changes from their in house writing staff. The current script that they sent to Wright was a complete bastardization of Wright's original vision, so he walked. Previously, Wright had to re write the script twice, adding in notes more akin to Marvel's plans for their universe, which clashed with Wright's vision (Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige had backed Wright 100% so this could more than likely come from higher ups at Disney).

This is saddening news to hear, as Wright has been heavily involved with the film since 2006, way before the Cinematic Universe even came to fruition. It's a shame also, because from what I hear, a lot of people only really cared about Ant-Man BECAUSE Wright made it, and now that he's gone, I feel as if not many will care much about it. I myself am pretty sad that he left the project, as I love Wright's style and really was looking forward to seeing him tackle a Marvel movie, but that sadly will not be happening (I also find it weird how Marvel is A-OK with a movie involving Vin Diesel as a talking tree and Bradley Cooper as a raccoon with an itchy trigger finger but they won't let Wright fully realize his plan for Ant-Man).

aaaaaand he's gone.....

Marvel is already hard at work at finding a replacement director. It was announced the other day that Adam McKay (Anchorman 1 and 2, The Other Guys) was entering final negotiations to direct, but the next day, he pulled out of negotiations, citing schedule conflicts.....

So...movie cursed? Movie cursed.

The other two possibilities are Rawson Marshall Thurber (We're The Millers) and Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad). These are two...rather odd choices but it will be interesting to see who becomes the new director  for Ant-Man....still wishing Wright was back though.

On a more positive note for Marvel, we finally have our Thanos for Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers 3!

For those who need a friendly reminder, Thanos was the big scary purple alien who showed up and smiled creepy at the camera in the mid credits scene in The Avengers. Marvel has recently announced that none other than Josh Brolin will be portraying Thanos!

 

From Brand in The Goonies....

....to Barney's evil cousin.

 

 

I actually think Brolin is going to be a really interesting choice as Thanos. He can pull off the menace quite easily. Thanos' first appearance will be in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, due August 8. I assume that he will show up digitally in the film with Brolin's voice added in, and then have Brolin either voice, do motion capture, or, dare I hope, don prosthetics to play Thanos in The Avengers 3, of which Thanos is due to be the main villain. I quite like this casting choice and am very interested to see what Brolin plans to do with him.


That's it for Marvel news this week folks. I'm excited to see Brolin join the Marvel Cinematic Universe but sad to see Wright leave a project he's been working on for nearly 10 years.....I do hope that Marvel will find a suitable replacement, but I can only yearn and dream for what could have been if Wright had stayed, even though I applaud him for keeping creative integrity.

-Jon

Godzilla Savior Of Man Kind!

Members of every generation will find something to love in Godzilla, I mean who doesn't love watching a giant reptile battle it out with monsters while a hunky marine makes his way home to his wife? You've got action, gore, tragedy, romance, this film had it all. Directed by Gareth Edwards, 2014's Godzilla has thrilled fan's of all ages who were excited to see the King of the reptiles on the silver screen once more, this time enhanced with today's technology. Every frame was bone chilling and if you didn't feel a little sick when you saw how big he was then you need to take a moment. 

The cast was amazing, with Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston kicking off the conspiracy theories in his role as Joe Brody, and his on screen son Ford Brody played by Kick Ass' Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  Cranston and Johnson nailed the father-son chemistry right out the gate, though limited there interaction was enjoyable and somewhat a tragic fan favorite. 

Elizabeth Olsen the soon to be Scarlet Witch of the Avengers played Johnson's on screen wife as Elle Brody, supportive and busy doing her own job it was refreshing to see these two have such amazing chemistry especially since they will be playing the Maximoff Twins in Avengers Age of Ultron. 

The effects were stellar, making you feel like these tragedies were taking place in your own backyard.  Though if you can't handle some serious loud noises then this isn't for the faint of heart but maybe for the hard of hearing. 

Fans were thrilled to see many references made through out the film to the original Godzilla movies produced in 1954. The film was so well received we can already look forward to a sequel which will begin production in the near future with Gareth Edwards once again at the helm. 

~Nicole

Doctor Who Series 8: First Teaser Drops!

Today is a good day to be a Whovian, my friends. The BBC just dropped a 16 second teaser for the eighth series of Doctor Who, confirming it to officially start this August, with a specific date soon to be announced in the coming months. The eighth series of the long running British science fiction show will mark the beginning of Peter Capaldi's run as the Twelfth Doctor, joined once again by previous companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman).

There is not a whole lot to say about this teaser, as it is only 16 seconds. However, what SHOULD be interesting to note is that the Twelfth Doctor's silhouette is shown behind an exploding TARDIS, specifically Matt Smith's second TARDIS design that was used starting with The Snowmen. Perhaps this could mean that Capaldi is getting an entirely new TARDIS to mark the beginning of his tenure? It wouldn't be the first time, as Matt Smith also received a new TARDIS back in 2010 when he first started out.

I am now intrigued to see what is planned for Capaldi's incarnation of the Doctor. Many remains to be seen, as I am sure we will be getting more of a full length trailer in the coming months or so, along with an official date for the eighth series premiere. For now though, check out the 16 second teaser below and get ready for the new Doctor to land this August!

Today in WTF News: Edgar Wright Leaves Marvel's Ant-Man

Well....I did not see this coming. In an absolutely surprising turn of events, director Edgar Wright has left Marvel Studios' Ant-Man.

The move comes as a complete blindside, as Wright had been attached to the project since 2006, way before Iron Man was released and kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to directing, he had also co wrote the script with Joe Cornish (Attack the Block). He kept up frequent updates of the project, even creating a sizzle reel in 2012 which displayed his plans for how to create Ant-Man.

Both Marvel and the director have released statements saying that they have parted ways due to "differences in their vision of the film." Marvel already has a replacement locked in for the film, though they are keeping who landed the job a mystery for the moment. The company said that the change in directors would not affect the film's planned July 17, 2015 release date, where Ant-Man will kick off Marvel's Phase Three of their Cinematic Universe

This is saddening news to hear, as I was quite excited to seeing Wright's vision of the character (even saying the film would be going for a heist film feel and would be different than the other Marvel films). I'll be interested to hear who will be taking his place, but it's upsetting to hear that we will not be seeing Wright's vision brought to the big screen.

-Jon

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Title Reveal: A Fan's Opinion

DC and Warner Bros. have been releasing more and more tidbits about the upcoming Batman vs Superman film recently. A couple of weeks ago, we got the reveal of Ben Affleck in the Batman costume as well as the design of the Batmobile itself. Today, the official logo and title of the film have been announced. The film will be officially called Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This title....boy where do I begin with this one? I'm not a particular fan of the title, as I think it sounds rather silly. Not only that, but it also makes it rather obvious that this film  will more than likely be focusing heavily on the beginnings of the Justice League before their own film due for release in 2017.

Seeing other members of Justice League appear in this film is something I have not been a huge fan of from the get-go. While I understand that Warner Bros and DC want to get their big superhero team up movie off the ground as soon as possible (especially since Marvel has been knocking it out of the park for the last six years), it feels as if they're rushing their universe and racing to get their big team up film out, rather than bide their time and help build and develop the members of the team that will be in the League line up. The big reason as to why Marvel has been doing so well is because they take their time with the characters, they take time to build up their universe, which is why their films have been so successful. DC, on the other hand, is rushing their universe, simply so they can get to Justice League and try to be on equal footing with Marvel.

The title for this film seems to evidence that the film will focus heavily on the other members of Justice League as well as Batman and Superman, which makes me nervous if the film will become very overstuffed. Now, I would love to be proven wrong. I hold onto the hope that Snyder will make a great Batman and Superman film. I hope that it's a good film and I'll still be seeing the movie when it gets released...but this title just gets me worries about the direction of the film and what it may become. Hopefully, more info will get revealed at San Diego Comic Con this year.

On a side note, the logo for the film is an incredibly cool variation of the logo we've seen floating around the internet for the past year. I think it looks pretty groovy.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters May 6, 2016.

-Jon

Batman Vs. Superman: New Title Revealed!

Dawn of Justice, is the official title for Batman V Superman the highly anticipated sequel to Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder and set to come out May 16, 2016.

~Nicole

She is The One Named Sailor Moon!

Viz Media owners of the Sailor Moon label has finally given the gift that keeps on giving to fans all over North America. Moonies everywhere rejoiced to hear that Viz Media cut a deal with Hulu to allow them to stream episodes of the hit anime-remastered and uncut. That is to say that the comical edits done to keep touchy subjects from sensitive American eyes wont be there.

Monday May 19nth fans will be able to access episodes One through Four and every monday after that two episodes will be released. This is coming with the launch of the new Sailor Moon anime television show that will surely breath new life into the fandom as it has done so already. This new anime will keep true to the manga in ways the currently produced series could not.

Keep your eyes pealed for episodes of Sailor Moon coming this Monday on Hulu.

~Nicole

Batman vs Superman's Batmobile finally revealed....along with Affleck in Costume!

Well....after months of speculation and guessing what the design will be, we FINALLY get our first look at the Batmobile from Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman (working title). And as an added bonus, not only do we get a look at the design of the Batmobile, but we also get our very first look at Ben Affleck himself in the Batman costume. Check out the picture below!

First, let's talk about the design of the Batmobile itself. I absolutely love the design of it. To me, this looks like they combined the sporty look of Tim Burton's Batmobile with the military design of Christopher Nolan's Tumbler. If you see the picture that Snyder posted the day before the reveal, you can see that there even seems to be some inspiration from the Schumacher films, as evidenced by the raised wing in the back. It looks as if they took the best parts of all previous Batmobiles on film and combined them together. I absolutely love the look of it.

And now we get to the biggest part of this picture: the first look of Ben Affleck in the Batman suit. Right off the bat (ha ha...bat....I slay me), it is clearly obvious that the suit is heavily inspired by Frank Miller's Batman costume from The Dark Knight Returns, as evidenced below As you can see, Affleck's suit is heavily influenced by Miller, especially with the cowl. The cowl's ears features tiny little nubs exactly like Miller's costume design. I do hope that with this costume, they allow Affleck to turn his head with the cowl, as shown in The Dark Knight Trilogy. I also like how the suit itself looks like it's made out of a sort of mesh material, which is something I have not yet seen in a Batman film. The whole costume itself looks like it is something not yet done for a Batman film, something I'm greatly excited about/

As for Affleck himself in the costume, he looks to be the perfect fit for the role, which pleasantly surprises me. He looks brooding and contemplating, which summarizes part of Batman's character perfectly; that he is a lone, brooding figure, trying to right the wrongs of his parents' murder (the photo also gave way to a rather amusing meme called "Why So Sad Batman" that I highly recommend looking at out of sheer amusement).

 There is still some hate I have seen going around about the look of the costume and how "Affleck looks fat in the costume" (because, you know, the Internet hates everything) and to this I say: just give the man a chance. He has proven himself to be a more capable entertainer in the last few years (See: Argo and The Town) and in all honesty, Daredevil really wasn't his fault. In fact, I liked him in that movie, I blame everything more on the writing and direction, the actors weren't at fault (well...except Jennifer Garner but that's another story).

While I am still extremely hesitant about Batman vs Superman as a whole (especially with the inclusion of quite a few Justice League members), I am very happy that Affleck looks the perfect fit in the costume and I do hope that he does well in the role. Who knows? Maybe this will lead to Affleck getting to direct and star in a solo Batman film, something I think would be a VERY interesting move, directorial wise.

Batman vs. Superman, or Batman and Superman featuring Justice League and Friends or whatever the film will eventually be called, hits theaters May 6, 2016.

-Jon



The Flash

It has been a fantastic week in the world of of DC comics with news coming in all over the place about Zach Snyder's upcoming Batman VS Superman to the Arrow Final that blew us out of the water on wednesday. Though the thing that has me the most excited is all the new releases from the CW about The Flash. One week ago viewers and fans of various television shows learned who got the axe and who was here to stay, among these announcements came which shows had gotten the green light to air. Once fans heard The Flash was cleared for lift off everyone was talking about how they  couldn't wait to see what they would do with this show and to see footage.

The CW did not disappoint there fans this week with not only a one minute teaser trailer for the up and coming drama due to air in the Fall but also caught everyone by surprise with a five minute trailer giving us a idea of how they worked Barry's comic book origins into the show.

Bad news first: the origin of Barry Allen according to the show is a little confusing in the comic series barry's mom is killed by some random robber whereas in the show it appears that the reverse flash also known as zoom was the one who killed her giving birth to barry's need to be fast anough to save lives.

The trailer introduced us to Cisco someone we bet on Episode 19 season 2 of Arrow. A skeptical brilliant nerd who works for STAR Labs the same Laboratory that was keeping Barry under lock and key during his coma. Joining the cast is Criminal Minds Jesse L. Martin in the role of Detective West, Barry's boss.

So how does it look when our favorite speedster is running at the speed of light? The fastest man alive is fast alright with his signature crimson friction proof suit to put up with the abuse he puts it through when running through the streets of starling city. Since the show was announced the fans have been skeptical on how it would look like when he runs and true to form he has his trail of lightning that follows him as he runs.

Grant Gustin stole the hearts of Arrow fans when he showed up to play the dorky Barry Allen during season two and now even people who don't watch Arrow are already sold that he has what it takes to nail the part save for his lack of blonde hair of course. Speaking of Arrow, everyone's favorite hooded vigilante will be making a guest appearance to give starling city's fledgling hero a few pieces of advice. Perhaps we will see more of the Arrow working side by side with the Flash, a fan can dream cant she?

Iris West makes an appearance in the trailer and teases the future romance that comic book fans know is to come between Barry and Iris. Though fans of Arrow and future fans of Flash are hoping for a little romance between Arrow's IT genius Felicity Smoak. Personally I hope Barry stick with Iris there romance is beautiful in the book and will be in the show.

If you haven't seen the trailer for The Flash then I think you should, its definitely exciting and if your a fan as is it will make you jump up and down and scream with excitement...or was that just me? Ha! The Flash runs onto the small screen this Fall.

~Nicole

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Welcome!

Welcome to Agents of Fandom!

We are just two best friends who love the geeky world around us and we intend to use this blog to rant about the things we love, hate, and anything that makes us nerdy. We've spent the last eleven years sharing our love of all things nerdy and now we are going to share it with all of you. We are both aspiring journalists, preferably reviewers so when news strikes or we feel the need to critique we will be there!

We are just your friendly neighborhood nerds, and we are on the case!