In every industry, competitors look at each other and note their successes and failures. No doubt Warner Bros., owners of the DC Comics licenses of the Justice League heroes, paid attention to all of the critical and financial triumph of last summer’s The Avengers. With WB looking to launch their own superhero team-up in 2015, the question remains: what will the team-up of comics’ most powerful heroes look like? Will Warner Bros. try to copy the model and style of Avengers, or take a new direction?

I had never read a Justice League title during its run until DC relaunched their titles, The New 52. Starting many story lines over and taking heroes in a new direction was a bold move to take for many characters older than my grandparents. The fresh faces are looking like a precursor to their film counterparts, as a Justice League movie is in the works. Marvel took a bold step giving their heroes a movie to focus on the character, then a team-up feature. With only Man of Steel coming down the pipe this year, there is not enough time to get solo features for DC before the slated 2015 opening of JL. The big question is: can Justice League be a success by not following The Avengers formula? If it is different, what should it look like?

It’s important to stress that Marvel and DC both treat and cater to different heroes. The Avengers highlighted the invincible Iron Man, the raging Hulk, the mighty Thor and the patriot Captain America. Much like Avengers, Justice League has become a revolving door of heroes who have come and gone. Numerous sources have said the JL movie would focus on five central characters. Superman, the veritable last son of Krypton, would be a key figure. His dark counterpart, Batman, would join him and most likely struggle to take direction from the red-capped Boy Scout. Wonder Woman, the Amazon warrior hopefully leaving her invisible plane behind. The Green Lantern, space sector 2814 cop who hopefully fares better than his last box office encounter. And lastly The Flash, the fastest man alive. If we do not get individual features for each setting up the story, how will writers tie the heroes together?

What I would love would be a Watchmen-style feature. Since Superman is so incredibly strong and stupidly helpful to the team, get him out of the way early on. As awesome as it would be to see the Death of Superman story play out on film, it could be a “less is more” sort of thing. Open the film with the funeral for Superman. He died fighting and killing Doomsday (I know Doomsday always adapts to his deaths and cannot die, but honestly that’s just stupid and a a plot-point not worth leaving open) and we get an awesome public funeral precession, as well as a hero ceremony. Now that Kal-El is dead, the rest of the team (who have not worked together before but are connected through their run-ins with Superman) have to join together when a global threat faces them. Imagine how awesome it would be to see the first time Batman met Superman (and they didn’t trust each other). Or Superman chasing down a villain only to find Flash caught him first? It’s enough to get a comic geek excited for sure!

Justice League does not need to be what The Avengers was because it cannot. It needs to be different, because the universe and characters are so unique. I have faith WB will get this one right, but fear of failure is sometimes enough to drown a project before it gets into the water.

What do you think? Have any ideas for an awesome Justice League film?

Holy Crap! What a way to end the day in Hall H. After a 13 hour day of waiting in lines and sitting through panels, Marvel Studios made the day completely worth it. Kevin Fegie, executive producer for Marvel, came out on the stage with a few announcements. When I say announcements, I mean nerd shattering information that this fan boy was not prepared for. In no particular order the information was as follows; Captain America: The Winter Solider, Thor : The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy and the further confirmation of an Ant Man movie. All of which were classified as Phase Two in the Avengers world.

This panel was a pure joy overload. Feige introduced Director Edgar Wright after the reveal of the Ant Man who brought with him a test clip that he had been working on to showcase the Ant Man concept. The footage was not fully rendered, but highlighted an action sequence that could appear in a future project. We saw crude versions of Ant Man shrinking and growing and how he might fight in the film.

Guardians of the The Galaxy is an ambitious project that should take us further into the Marvel universe and will expand the movie universe deeper into space. There was no footage shown, but the character list is as follows; Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon. Unfortunately, no other details were given, but the idea is mouth watering.

The title reveals for Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Solider were fantastic. At this point The Dark World could mean a few different things in the Thor universe, so I will need to research more into it. The Winter Solider, however, means that we will get the reveal of SPOILER ALERT The Winter Solider, Bucky Barnes. For fans, we know that Bucky survives the fall into the ice and becomes the Russian sleeper spy of the same name.

The big show for the Marvel Panel this year was Iron Man 3. Feige was up at the mic and while he was explaining the movie, the lights came down and out from behind a curtain in the center isle dances Robert Downey Jr. himself. He came out to Luther Vandross, in a nice suit with an Iron Man glove and danced all of the way to the stage. When he got to the stage he debuted amazing footage from Iron Man 3. This footage was so full of fan crazy bits that it made the Man of Steel footage I saw earlier look like fan made film. Now, I may be a little biased because I grew up solely on Marvel, but this footage was amazing. The showing of new Iron Man armor, Extremis styled armor, Rhodey, Happy Hogan and the biggest reveal of Sir Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin. It had been long suspected that Kingsley might become the Mandarin and Comic- Con 2012 confirmed it.

UPDATE: Below is Robert Downey Jr.’s entrance at the Iron Man 3 Panel

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These robots are big. From what we were able to gather, large aliens (del Toro dropped that about 9 would be shown) arrive on our planet somehow. In order to

combat these things, 25 story robots were made to take the fight to the invaders. A lot of the movie’s world did not look very futuristic (cars and other vehicles looked like recent models, no flying or really advanced stuff) other than big, big robots. Del Toro loved talking about the project, and how it was the fulfillment of a dream he’s had since childhood. Being a fan of robots and monster movies like Godzilla, this was a clash that anyone with his background would die for. In terms of the technicals of the robots, or Jaegers as they are called in the film, two drivers control individual hemispheres of the weapons. When asked if one person could drive a Jaeger though the footage said it’d be lethal, del Toro promised we’d see the ramifications of an emergency take-over by a single operator. It looked stylized and sleek, like a video game but with people and a lot of destruction. Del Toro said that little would be dropped out before the end of the year, but since the film opens July 12, 2013, expect at least a teaser or short trailer near Christmas.

On December 14th, 2012, audiences will be drawn back to the world of Middle-earth. Set before the events of Lord of the Rings, the two-part Hobbit film is shaping up to be the holiday feature of the year. Fans camped out overnight to get great seats for the panel, which opened with an introduction video blog of Peter Jackson, the director and spiritual core of the Tolkien film universe. It was comprised of the last week of shooting on the set, along with interviews and fun facts from the actors and production crew. Director Peter Jackson and co-producer Philippa Boyens spoke to the audience briefly before 12 minutes of brand new footage was debuted.

The first scene featured the Dwarven party discussing their plans to take back what is rightfully theirs. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is his standard contained wizard, though he does flex a bit of his magic to convince the party to bring along Bilbo (Martin Freeman). A lot of action was highlighted, including the return of Orlando Bloom and Cate Blachett. It was beautiful and as fully engaging as the previous trilogy. The footage contained clips from both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There And Back Again, the later releasing in theaters next December. The panel included Freeman and McKellen, as well as Richard Armitage (as the leader Thorin) and the star of the original trilogy Elijah Wood (reprising the role of Frodo). Andy Serkis (motion-capture performance as Gollum) spoke about shooting the movie, as well as being the Second Unit Director. Fans were blown away by the footage, and I was impressed at the presentation. Keep an eye out for more on these films as we draw closer to their back to back holiday openings.

The Warner Bros./ Legendary Pictures panel was a lot of fun from front to back. I was blown away by the talent that showed up and all of the footage that was shown. As a hardcore comic book fan, I was highly anticipating the Man of Steel and I was not disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, there was not enough information given for the fans, but it was more than enough to extinguish my fears about the project.

The footage was, basically, an extended trailer of what the teaser will be on the trailer pack for The Dark Knight Rises. Without giving too much away we see a bearded Clark Kent, Pa Kent, Kal El’s space ship, Lois Lane and Zod. There was a dark tone through out the trailer and I felt serious doubts from Clark Kent about revealing himself to the world. There was an amazing scene that showed Superman’s take off to flight as his power cracks the ground beneath him and as he breaks the sound barrier. All that we saw was a lot of fun and hearing Zack Snyder talk about the project was very promising.

When asked about the possibility of a Justice League or Superman/ Batman movie Snyder replied with “We know that Superman is the crown jewel of DC Comics and we want to get his house in order.” He also added that “anything” was possible.

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There are Comic- Con panels that are good, and then their panels that are great. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained will be exactly what a Tarantino fan is expecting but with a small twist. Violence and hard story telling that will have a hint of a love story is the promise of Tarantino and company. Django Unchained has been marketed as this film about a slave that gets freed and then becomes a bounty hunter of white men in the search of his wife. What Tarantino wanted to drive home was the fact that this film is not about a slave, but has slave narrative. The part of Django’s life that he was a slave is not truly told. we understand that he was a slave and see that for a brief moment in the beginning, but the journey after his time as a slave is when the film takes place. Tarantino brought an 8 minute clip of the film that really detailed what he says is the first half of the movie. It was a story packed 8 minutes that still didn’t reveal too much of the core story.

There is an obvious amount of controversy that surrounds a project that is heavily based in an American time that slavery played such a role in our society. Jamie Foxx made a good point that we are all big boys and girls and that a story with this dark tone can be told and appreciated. With Jamie Foxx being a big Hollywood star, Tarantino had reservations that Foxx might not be able to find that “slave” mentality that Django needed to be. To which Foxx told him stories of growing up in the south that he dealt with some hard racism that he could draw on.

Tarantino was very mum on his project, but a fun bit that he gleaned for us was the fact that Kerry Washington’s character Broomhilda Von Shaft along with Django are the ancestors of John Shaft himself. It’s just a fun bit, but I would have liked the bloodline to link to either Jules or Marcsellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction.

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Director Neill Blomkamp hit the ground running with the sleeper sci-fi alien flick District 9. His follow-up feature has been shrouded in secrecy, and we finally got a taste of the feature. Elysium stars Matt Damon, and follows a man in a tough position. Earth is overpopulated and polluted. The rich have constructed a sanctuary where war and disease are eradicated. Max (Matt Damon) is compromised in an accident, and the only way to cure himself is to steal data from an Elysium citizen. Before the stars came out, we got the first look at footage from the film, and it blew the crowd away.

Stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley sat down for some questions and talked about the origin of their involvement in the feature. Fans of District 9 will love the evolution of Blomkamp’s filmmaking and presence in the science fiction universe. We saw police drones which looked similar to the mech suits from District 9, guns that looked futuristic and brilliant, and a big ambition fitting for the talent involved. Most of the footage was rendered, and looks exciting. Max gets radiation poisoning and is practically immobile, so he is fitted with a exoskeleton to amplify his movement. After the raid on the target, evil man Sharlto Copley showed up and had an intense shootout and close quarters fight with Max. Eventually, the fight is taken to Elysium, in the safe haven the wealthy have made. The intellectual and detailed approach taken by Blomkamp is a new breath of fresh air movie fans and lovers of science fiction film have been waiting for. Stay tuned for more details on Elysium, opening in theaters March 1, 2013.

Joe kills people for the mob. But in the future, time travel exists. They send contracts back, Joe takes them out, and removes any trace of the crime. However, one day he sees his target is his future self. That’s the world Rian Johnson has created with his new sci-fi action flick Looper. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, the time-bender sets up an interesting dynamic we have not seen in film lately. With a strong story setup and fascinating futuristic premise, this is looking like it could be a big hit.

Director Rian Johnson came up with the idea 10 years ago after reading the work of Philip K. Dick, a classic science fiction writer. The hit man system was a dynamic way to have a man confront himself, his mistakes and the chance to correct them. Co-star Emily Blunt joined Johnson and star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and both introduced some new footage for the audience. The footage included some dialogue between Joe and his boss, played by veteran actor Jeff Daniels. Great action and dialogue explained the complicated premise. I wonder how it will appeal to the masses, but based on the action alone, crowds will flock to it. Time travel movies can be difficult to follow, and the panel addresses it. Rian stated that the movie really is not about time travel, it’s just the vehicle for the story. Things like what one would say to their past self is mentioned, but the concept is that things in the world are so pressing there really is not time to dwell on the “big ideals.”

In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by transporting back Joe’s future self.

Resident Evil Retribution offers all of the same story and action that the past films have promised and I am feeling that it will deliver on none of them, just like it has in the past.  As a zombie fan, I am completely and utterly tired of everything to do with Resident Evil. We haven’t seen anything new since the first installment and I am just done. The 3D aspect of the film looks just like the footage from Resident Evil Afterlife and I felt that the cast was ready for it t be over. Milla Jovovich was more mild mannered than I have seen her in the past and I got the sense she knows that the franchise is past its prime. I can’t give much in the way of positive feedback other than Michelle Rodriguez and Oded Fehr are back for some reason. As you may recall, they both died in previous films.

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When last we saw our merry band of apocalyptic survivors, Shane had finally been killed, the farm had been over run by the dead and Rick had laid down the law. Season two of The Walking Dead was a roller coaster of emotion for the viewers. It ended with a perfect cliffhanger for fans of the show and readers of the comic book alike with the reveal of the prison. and fan boys and girls alike have been ravenous for the start of the third season.

This years panel for The Walking Dead at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 was ripe with laughter and comedy. Not exactly what a zombie fan wants from a panel, but it’s what we got. The panel included Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Norman Reedus, to name a few, as well as newcomers to the cast David Morressiy (The Governor) and Danai Gurira (MIchonne). Unfortunately, for the fans, the cast were not allowed to speak about anything from the upcoming season, however, we were given the season premier date as Sunday October 14.

As a treat for those lucky enough to get into the panel, a brief preview for season three was shown that gave insight into what direction the show might take with Michonne and the Governor. With Michonne, it appears that we will get a close relationship between her and Andrea as they try to survive together in the woods and the Governor may be a guy that we like at first. There were some great scenes with Rick and the group clearing out the prison and what they go through finding the dead inside. The biggest reveal in the preview was the last shot SPOILER ALERT showing Daryl’s brother Merle. We haven’t seen Merle since the first season, unless you count Daryl’s weird hallucination in season two. Fans have been full of questions about whether or not Merle would return to the series and it appears that our questions may be answered.

It was unfortunate that the cast was not able to release any information about the up coming season, but they were intent on letting the us know that the high level of intensity that season two ended on would flow right into season three.

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