It should be noted up front that when I say Tony Stark is the best Avenger I am only referring to the cinematic universe. When it comes to the comic book world of the Avengers franchise, my knowledge is limited (ok, I haven’t read one single issue of any Marvel comic). But I fell in love with Iron Man from the moment Stark defied the wishes of his publicist and announced his “secret” identity to a crowd full of reporters. And when it comes to his position in the big-screen team of superheroes known as the Avengers, he smashes the Hulk, squashes Black Widow, shield-butts Captain America, hammers Thor and swats Hawkeye out of the sky. Why is that? I could come up with many reasons, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll stick with the four that he gives himself during a particularly heated argument with the Cap. Even without his armor, Stark is a Genius, Billionaire, Playboy and a Philanthropist.

Genius

Let’s not mince words here. Stark is the kind of smart that runs circles around Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein. Trapped in the middle of nowhere with nothing but weapons parts and an old battery, he successfully made himself a miniature arc reactor that not only powered a primitive version of his Iron Man suit, but kept shrapnel from entering his own heart. Ostensibly, this man performed heart surgery on himself. His lab is its own holodeck 400 years before such things were installed into Starfleet ships. He is the leading name (indeed, the only official name) in clean energy. His engineering prowess allowed him to create Iron Man suits that both fit in suitcases and fly out to rescue him as he dives off his own tower. He can easily talk shop with the only other genius on the Avengers team, Bruce Banner, and became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics overnight.

All the other Avengers struggle to keep up with Tony Stark’s brain. Even Banner seems slightly mystified by the incredible hacking job that Tony does on the S.H.I.E.L.D. computers. Bruce is certainly a genius in his own field, but Tony is a genius in his field, Bruce’s field, Steve Rogers’ field, Natasha’s and Clint’s fields; heck, given a chance he could probably learn everything about Thor’s field. Do you know why Tony Stark has a drinking problem? Not because he’s a typical drunk who just keeps chasing the feeling. Alcohol is the cooling system for his brain’s processing power.

Billionaire

This is where Tony’s brains are put to work. Sure, most of his fortune was inherited, but the brains ran in the family. The Stark Empire was built on genius. And with this money, he is able to do something about which most superheroes only look back and feel guilty. Fix things. Loki’s first appearance on Earth destroyed an entire small town. And what could Thor do about it, but scratch his head? The Hulk has destroyed more than his fair share of city blocks, and what does Bruce do? Runs away to a third world country. Whatever happened in Budapest, I’m sure Clint and Natasha had little to do with the clean-up. And all of Captain Rogers’ collateral damage was probably included in the whole cost of World War II, but no doubt he would be feeling anguish over the cost of Loki’s army if Tony wasn’t around to lend a few billion dollars to repairs.

Playboy

Let’s not focus here on the amount of women Tony has had swooning over him. Rather, let’s think about the kind of personality it takes to get to that point. Tony Stark is a swaggering, handsome, charismatic man with as much power as he has money. He may not have the musculature of Thor, or the kindheartedness of Steve, but he has what it takes. On screen, a woman might prefer one of the other men to Tony, but put her in a room with the three of them and watch Tony swoop in like a hawk and close the deal before anyone else knew a deal was being made.

Speaking of hawks, there are two other male team members left: the quiet nerd with a mean streak and the aloof weirdo creeping on you from above. They don’t stand a chance. With Natasha, you might think you’re getting lucky, but she only ever wants something from you, and once she gets it, she’s done with you. No, Tony is the true player in this game. His charisma points are through the roof, and if he “doesn’t play well with others”, it’s only because the others aren’t attractive women.

Philanthropist

So far I’ve described Tony Stark in terms of his most upfront and highlighted characteristics. But this is where it all counts. Sure, Tony has an ego taller than Stark Tower, and with the aforementioned characteristics, it’s easy to see how an ego of such size might come into being. But ever since his incarceration at the hands of terrorists, Tony has been working hard to make sure he earns every last penny of his fortune. Peter Parker learned that with great power comes great responsibility, but this is a mantra we don’t often see a lot of rich and powerful men repeating.

When Tony realized the damage that the weapons industry was doing to the world, he stopped weapons production and focused solely on clean energy through his arc reactor. When he was faced with the destruction of the world, he tried in his own unique way to get to the very bottom of it and fix it. He was even willing to sacrifice his own life to get rid of the immediate threat of a nuclear warhead beaming toward Manhattan. His brains, his fortune, his charisma all work together for this singular effort: the betterment of humanity. I can’t compare this trait to the other Avengers, because, let’s face it, you can’t be an Avenger without being a little bit of a philanthropist. But with the size of Tony’s ego, he is a philanthropist despite himself. And I think that counts for a little more than any other Avenger could speak toward.

Your Turn!

Sound off, nerds! You’ve heard my argument for Iron Man, now tell me who your favorite is and why. And I even fully admitted that I have no idea what the Avengers are like in the comic books. You no doubt have an arsenal of knowledge I can’t even dream of tapping into. Is Ant Man your favorite? The Wasp? Black Panther? Ms. Marvel? Assemble all your thoughts and feelings in the comment section.

If you are an Avengers fan, then you’ll want to check out the Avengers Eye Makeup Design and the Avengers Bookmarks after you leave your thoughts in the comments!

Why Tony Stark is a Better Avenger Than You is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

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Why Tony Stark is a Better Avenger Than You is a post by SteveBeaudry on Cool Gizmo Toys.

1.  Ladybug Steampunk Wallpaper

Regular ladybug? Too twee, and sort of lame. Steampunk ladybug? AWESOME.

2.  Steampunk Abraham Lincoln Wallpaper

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter?  It’s been done. Honest Abe, steampunk weaponsmaster? Geek heaven.

3.  Menacing Train Steampunk Wallpaper

I don’t know about you, but I like my steampunk trains suffused with an air of menace.

4.  Mechanical Horse Steampunk Wallpaper

Looking for something a bit more understated? Check out this faded line drawing of a mechanical horse.

5.  Airship Steampunk Wallpaper

Finally, what steampunk tale is complete without an airship?

Now there’s absolutely no excuse for your lame stock photo wallpaper. Change it up and let your geek flag fly!

If you are a fan of these steampunk wallpapers, then you’ll want to check out the other side of the spectrum with these futuristic TRON Wallpapers and Computer Accessories!  Don’t confine how you geek to a single era, my friends.

Jen Schiller writes as the Baltimore Girl Geeks Examiner, where she indulges her obsession with the latest in geeky gadgetry.

Five Amazing Steampunk Wallpapers For Your Computer is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

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Five Amazing Steampunk Wallpapers For Your Computer is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

Per their website, these concoctions of jarred manliness come in smells such as Riding Mower, First Down, 2×4, and my personal favorite name, Man Town (So many jokes……..Brain….Can’t…..Process). I might give 2×4 a try because having my wife come home to a house that smells like a Home Depot may trick her into thinking I spent the day doing home repairs instead of my usual regimen of sleeping in a pile of Doritos and playing Settlers of Catan with my imaginary friends, but I’m still on the fence about it.

I think it’s a cool idea that Yankee Candle is trying to reach out to a male demographic in a world of products that are usually catered to women but it seems like they didn’t go far enough with these first four. If they’re going to try to sell us some man candles let’s do it right, I say. Give us some buffalo wing candles or the high holy man smell of a sweet, sweet Bacon candle. That’s the type of man product I could put my money behind.

BUY Yankee Man Candles

Larry Gallagher is a freelance writer from Jersey City, NJ. He can often be found across the wide expanse of the interwebs writing under his alter ego “The Writing Rambler”. He is a simple man who believes we’d all be better off if we just read more comics and shared a burrito once in a while.

You can follow Larry’s exploits on Twitter or on his Tumblr page 

Yankee Man Candles Should Be Called Mandles And Smell Like Bacon is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

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Yankee Man Candles Should Be Called Mandles And Smell Like Bacon is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

A few years ago, Balykin Pavel designed this Sand+Time Watch. It has a digital face which can show the flowing “sand” cross from one section of the band to the other. Alternately, the face is also shown with a digital number design for those of us who don’t feel like guessing. Things to do with this watch that come to mind:

• Creative “Time-Out” timer for small children
• Gift for a Dad who is into gadgets
• Great addition to a Harajuku outfit
• Use for costumes in cheesy Sci-Fi homemade movies
• Wear to conventions or raves… just because it looks awesome

Unfortunately, this watch was never put into production. For now we’ll have to make do with plain numbers. You can see Balykin Pavel’s designs (including more pictures of the watch) on the Balykin Designs Behance Page. Now if you’ll excuse me… I think I’ll start gluing LEDs to a bracelet now.

Via: [The Awesomer]

Aelis is the owner of The Gaming Goddess, a site dedicated to video games and all things geek. When she’s not saving the universe one click at a time, she is raising two mini-geeks with her knight in shining armor.

Sand+Time Watch Great For Counting Down The Seconds Before Your Demise is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

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Sand+Time Watch Great For Counting Down The Seconds Before Your Demise is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

This is the “Falling Blocks” decal, which is basically a geeky Tetris wall decal, and is one of the designs that we will be giving away!  Or, you can buy it from Vinyl Design for $28 if you lose the contest.

This is the “Invaders” decal, a Space Invaders wall sticker for any room in the house!  This is the other design that you could win, and this one is the BIGGER prize, as it costs $55 on the site!

Enter The Giveaway

Just follow the instructions on the widget below to win!  Actually, to have a chance of winning.  You probably will win.  Not.  Just enter.  It ends at some point, so do not delay!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Vinyl Design’s Retro Vibe Wall Decals Make Me Happy is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

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Giveaway: Vinyl Design’s Retro Vibe Wall Decals Make Me Happy is a post by Jack Kieffer on Cool Gizmo Toys.

Well, while you were practicing your marksmanship a new zombie game was released….or is about to be.

Enter Zombicide by Guillotine Games produced by Cool Mini Or Not.  Zombicide was a Kickstarter project that went off the charts.  With a 30 day goal of only $20,000 in order to lower production costs, Zombicide brought in a whopping $781,597 when the final bell rang.   Hunters for the undead rallied to the cause, while Gulliotine Games kept churning out the swag for each financial goal reached, and boy did the swag keep coming.

Early backers of the game that bought in at the “Abomination” level ($100) donation will receive a copy of the game and over 112 miniatures, some of them early advances on expansion packs planned for next year.

Game play is simple.  Each player controls one (for 6 players) to four (solo game) “survivors,” human beings in a zombie-infested cityscape. In fact, “survivors” can go from zero to hero and smash zombies, gaining increasingly higher skills the more zombies they kill.

Yet there are consequences of being so short sighted.  The game mechanics increase the level of difficulty every time zombies are eliminated.  So while survivors get better and better at  bashing in heads, the zombies are drawn to the area like moths to a flame.  As the Danger Level goes up so do the number of zombies.

The survivor characters are take-offs of comic heroes or action movie stars, like Eagle Chaz, a Chuck Norris look–like who needs to kick some zombie tail.  I mean…come on.  Who would not want to be Chuck Norris at the start of the zombie apocalypse?!  That’s not all but each of the survivors has a zombie model in the event they are turned.

I know what you are thinking: that it is impossible to think that Chuck Norris can become a zombie.  Unless the zombie Chuck is really a government experiment gone awry and you need to call in the real thing to deal with it.  Who better to deal with Zombie Chuck than the real Chuck?

There is also an Uma Thurman model, dressed somewhat similar to The Bride….yeah.  A katana-wielding, zombie-dicing machine!  Not to be outdone is El Cholo, a Danny Trejo look-a-like that wields dual machetes.  If machismo is not for you then take the role of a Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory and toss molotov cocktails.  That’s just a taste, there are actually 14 survivors you can choose from, not to mention making your own survivor.

The rules seem simple.  As it goes, no one has actually played the game, unless you are one of the lucky few at PAX this year that got to lay hands on it.  Still there is a simple little video on their main site that walks you through game.  The game is cooperative, to a degree, in so far as actions on the part of players make noise can turn the whole thing into a disaster.  Firing your machine gun may save your life but may bring the Zombie hordes down on your friends…sucks to be them, doesn’t it?   Zombicide seems to be a fun and easy game with cool minis in a popular and comics-inspired environment.

The attitude of the game is fun with a hint of terror.  The game will retail for about $85, but out of the store you do not get all the cool stuff at once.  Those will most likely be come as separate models or expansion packs.  Sorry, the Kickstarter has closed.  Even still, this is something to get on board with.  The game is reported to release in August of 2012.

Who can resist a zombie game?  If you can … then you will clearly be eaten first.

If you love Zombicide, you’ll want to check out the Zombie Shopping Mall Experience and the Chocolate Zombie Easter Bunny when you are ready for more zombie action.

Jerry is a project manger by day, a writer by night, and a very bad musician (seriously. He’s that bad).  Not afraid to hide his geeky nature, his wife of twelve years still cannot figure out why he quit leading real soldiers to go back leading 25mm plastic ones. 

Zombicide: Fight Zombies With Chuck Norris is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

©2012 Cool Gizmo Toys. All Rights Reserved.

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Zombicide: Fight Zombies With Chuck Norris is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

I’m a little curious at the full head of green locks Yoda is sporting though. I refuse to believe that a cake this detailed accidentally has him with the wrong hair. I almost want to believe that Frys is giving us a glimpse into what the beloved Jedi master looked like in his younger days. You know, back when he was out all night gambling in one of Jabba’s seedy casinos, smoking death sticks and performing mind tricks on the ladies (Ohhh that Yoda, what a sly fox). This may be the best geeky cake I’ve ever seen, period, and trust me; I’ve seen a lot of cakes (I get winded from typing). Frys’ work here is second to none and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

If you love this Yoda cake, then check out these 9 LEGO Cakes or these 17 TARDIS Cakes when you’re hungry for more.

Larry Gallagher is a freelance writer from Jersey City, NJ. He can often be found across the wide expanse of the interwebs writing under his alter ego “The Writing Rambler”. He is a simple man who believes we’d all be better off if we just read more comics and shared a burrito once in a while.

You can follow Larry’s exploits on Twitter or on his Tumblr page

Life-Sized Yoda Cake: Eat, Or Do Not Eat, There Is No Try is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

©2012 Cool Gizmo Toys. All Rights Reserved.

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Life-Sized Yoda Cake: Eat, Or Do Not Eat, There Is No Try is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

But this revolutionary concept will rock your socks because with its cool design, small and thin in size, which will fit right in your pocket. It’s exactly like a digital camera with an added bonus: it allows you to directly print photos. Now how convenient is that!

Say goodbye to running down to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target or any photo store to print your photos. Besides, instant printed photos are amazing mementos to share and keep (they look cool!) So go on folks, support the concept! ….If you care!

If you’re a big fan of the Instagram Socialmatic Camera, then you’ll want to check out some other cool concepts like the Ring Clock Concept and the Underwater Hotel when you’re done here.

Thanks to Meryl for this guest post – you can check out more of her stuff here!

[Via: Bless This Stuff]

Instagram Socialmatic Camera: You Might Want To Add This To Your Pocket is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

©2012 Cool Gizmo Toys. All Rights Reserved.

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Instagram Socialmatic Camera: You Might Want To Add This To Your Pocket is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

While this picture doesn’t exactly constitute a tutorial, anyone with some basic analytical thinking skills should be able to figure out how this astromech droid was re-created on someone’s face.

The R2-D2 eye makeup look would be great for the halloween and costume parties mentioned earlier and also for all of the die hard Star Wars geeks out there. Now you will just have to wonder how C-3PO would be translated into this eyeshadow look!  Or we could all try it ourselves with some highlighters and black markers to see how many eyes we need to poke out before we get it right.  HOLD STILL.  *Draws on face with highlighter*

If you love the R2-D2 eye makeup, then you’ll want to check out the Avengers Eye Makeup, which was created by the same person.  (Jangsara.)

[Via: Geeks Are Sexy]

This guest post was written by Olan, a design consultant who is the owner of Ofifteen, a business that provides design consultations.  She can also be found creating design, fashion, beauty posts and raising three hyper little ones.

R2-D2 Eye Makeup Makes Your Face Look Like An Astromech Droid is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

©2012 Cool Gizmo Toys. All Rights Reserved.

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R2-D2 Eye Makeup Makes Your Face Look Like An Astromech Droid is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.

Now you can have a functional big red button in your own home. The Panic Button Light Switch replaces your current light switch with a tempting shiny red button that lets you play smack-on smack-off as you reenact your favorite high intensity moments in geek history. As a bonus, when your droid is refusing to do your bidding you can twist the panic button to act as a dimmer switch for setting that perfect ambiance for a night of dice-rolling fun.

You can get your very own Panic Button Light Switch and dim the lights to live out your fantasy of living life as a rogue in the shadows. Just be careful during installation. Nobody likes a crispy human.

Aelis is the owner of The Gaming Goddess, a site dedicated to video games and all things geek. When she’s not saving the universe one click at a time, she is raising two mini-geeks with her knight in shining armor.

Panic Button Light Switch: Oooooh! What Does This Button Do? is a post from: Cool Gizmo Toys

©2012 Cool Gizmo Toys. All Rights Reserved.

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Panic Button Light Switch: Oooooh! What Does This Button Do? is a post by Guest Author on Cool Gizmo Toys.