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Last year's mega-hit The Avengers was, in some ways, the catalyst behind the spate of comic book movies created by Marvel Studios, who struck gold with 2008's Iron Man, which teased at a superhero team-up movie to come. After finding that success, Marvel followed by introducing more individual superheroes in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, 2010's Iron Man 2, and last year's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, embarking on an unusual strategy of creating individual movies that also worked a little bit like sequels that fed into the story of The Avengers.
The Avengers 2 will arrive in 2015 and cap off a second phase of Marvel's "cinematic universe," and will face competition from what Warner Bros.and DC Entertainment hopes will be the start of their "cinematic universe," starting with 2015's Justice League. Gangster Squad screenwriter Will Beall has already been hired to write the screenplay for the movie which will follow (if recent rumors are true) an unsurprising lineup that includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. With the release dates being so close together, we wondered which team could take down the other, and, since there will never be a movie where the two teams face off, there's only one way to solve this hypothetical dilemma: the cybernetic walls of our Character Cage Match!
check out the teams' strengths and weaknesses before weighing in on our poll >> Posted 01.10.13 by Ryan -
Comic book legend Stan Lee first started working for Marvel Comics in 1939, back when it was still known Timely Comics, eventually co-creating Marvel's most enduring characters, including the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the Avengers, to name a few. Still going strong at 90 years old, many might be surprised to know that Lee hasn't worked at Marvel Comics for years, as he is still seen as a figurehead for the comic book company. Lee continues to field questions and comments on Twitter, where he has a huge following, and continues his association with Marvel through his many cameos in Marvel movies.
Lee made his first onscreen cameo in the 1989 TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and would go on to appear in 2000's X-Men, all four Spider-Man, 2003's Daredevil and Hulk, both Fantastic Four movies, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, both Iron Man movies as well as 2011's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger and last year's The Avengers (but not, inexplicably, 2003's X2: X-Men United or X-Men: First Class). Lee's entire, chronological cameo history has been compiled into a single video (via Mary Sue), including most of our ten favorites (sorry, Mallrats doesn't count) and excluding Lee's voice over work from Marvel's animated series.
watch the video >> Posted 01.09.13 by Ryan -
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Remember that rumor about Marvel bringing its entire cinematic universal in one deluxe package? Well, those rumors turned out to be true.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Avengers Assembled is every comic book-fan boys’ dream. Beginning with 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel has carefully merged its characters from comic books to the big screen and all that hard work pays off with this ultimate movie collection, which features not only the Blu-ray 3-D version of The Avengers but also Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and a bonus disc, The Phase One Archives. The blu-ray set also includes collectible packaging with exclusive memorabilia from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the rest of the Marvel collection is already available on Blu-ray, Avengers won't hit home theater until Sept. 25 (Amazon actually doesn't list a release date for Phase One but it's safe to assume it will be released around the same time).
With dubbing this collection Phase One, Marvel is telling us there’s a lot more in store for comic book and movie fans alike.
You can preorder the collection on Amazon for $153.30. So are you ordering Phase One?
Posted 06.03.12 by Chris -
On Friday, The Hunger Games hits theaters. The movie takes place in a dystopian future where children are forced to battle each other to the death. You'd think that kind of movie would not easily lend itself to product tie-ins... But leave it to marketers to find a way.
Among the movie's product tie-ins is h20 water — you know, the preferred drink for when you're being chased to death by your peers for sport. The movie also offers Capitol Colours nail polish, modeled after the eccentric fashions of the Capitol citizens, you know, the same people who disfigure their bodies for fashion and cheer on child tributes as they slaughter each other for Capitol entertainment.
Hunger Games certainly isn't the first movie to come out with some questionable product tie-ins. Evidence the worst movie product tie-in merchandise we could find. Sadly, we own some of this horrible stuff.
Worst Movie Product Tie-Ins >>
Posted 03.21.12 by Chris -
Marvel has released online one of the four deleted scenes that will be included on the upcoming Blu-ray release of Captain America: The First Avenger. The action-packed scene features Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) childhood friend, James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan), fighting alongside Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough) and the rest of The Howling Commandos at the Battle at Azzano against the hordes of HYDRA and their devastating new weaponry.
Unlike most deleted scenes, which add little to the plot and are not really missed in the final cut, this scene actually depicts a pivotal moment that could have easily been left in director Joe Johnston's final cut of the movie. It was Bucky's capture by HYDRA following the conflict in this scene that propelled Rogers from playing the hero on USO stages to becoming a real hero by single-handedly invading the HYDRA base to free Bucky and the rest of The Howling Commandos.
watch the deleted scene >> Posted 10.19.11 by BrentJS -
Last month, a sneak peek was released for Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, which will be included on the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger DVD and Blu-Ray release. Now the entire short has been released online.
Like the DVD and Blu-Ray exclusive in Thor entitled Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer stars Clark Gregg as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson as he has a small encounter on his way to New Mexico for the events that unfolded in Thor. The Consultant helped explain the time between The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, but A Funny Thing is less about timeline and more about showing Agent Coulson kick a little butt.
watch the video >> Posted 10.17.11 by Ryan -
This summer saw the release of comic book adaptations Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, with both performing well enough to be granted sequels. However, while Thor 2 already has a July 26, 2013, release date, Captain America 2 does not. In an interview with The Playlist, Captain America himself, Chris Evans, revealed that a sequel wasn't likely until 2014.
more on Cap 2 and Evans future appearances in the role >> Posted 09.23.11 by Ryan -
The DVD and Blu-Ray release date for Captain America: The First Avenger has finally been announced, and a new trailer has been released that shows all of the extras that will be included.
While some are the requisite deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes — including a split-screen analysis of how Chris Evans was turned into "skinny Steve Rogers" and more — the DVD/Blu-ray trailer also includes a look at Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, the short starring Clark Gregg as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson (see the preview here) as well as a brief look at the upcoming The Avengers.
watch the DVD/Blu-ray trailer >> Posted 09.21.11 by Ryan -
This summer, Chris Evans impressed critics and audiences alike with his portrayal of patriotic comic book hero Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. With most of the movie showing that what made Cap a hero, besides an injection of Super Solider serum, was the sacrificial nature of his character, next the installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, next year's adaptation of The Avengers, will show the World War II-era Captain leading a team of superheroes in the present. The "fish-out-of-water" scenario will certainly be an adjustment for the character, and, as Evans told The Huffington Post.
He's in modern day, he has troubles. He actually gets to have things that he might have be able to shoulder, you know what I mean? He can't just put it on his back. He's a fish out of water. Everyone knows he's dead, and he's in a foreign time, and The Avengers, he gets to be a little bit darker, which is nice.
Joss Whedon struck "a really good balance," says Evans >> Posted 09.18.11 by Ryan -
Marvel Studios is giving fans a little extra in their upcoming DVD releases.
Yesterday's Thor DVD and Blu-Ray release included Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant, a short that stars Clark Gregg as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson and bridges the gap between Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk, which both take place before Thor in the timeline of Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
The latest short, released by cinematographer David Myrick (via ComingSoon), is Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, which again stars Gregg and shows what happened to Coulson before he arrived in Albequerque, New Mexico, for Thor. Gregg recently spoke to Crave Online about the short and what fans could expect.
watch the preview >> Posted 09.14.11 by Ryan