Director Tim Burton recently sat down for an interview with MTV and confirmed that he’s still planning on directing Beetlejuice 2. He also revealed that Winona Ryder will return to reprise her role as Lydia Deetz. When asked if Ryder would be back, he said, 

“Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Yeah yeah, oh yeah,” 

Ryder hinted that she would be included in the film about a year ago. It’s good to get a good solid confirmation from Burton, though. He also said,

“I worked with [Ryder], I hadn’t seen her in awhile… and she was so great. I was so happy to see her. So those kinds of elements mean something to me. Michael, and her… and that character, I just miss it, there’s some freedom about that character that I love.”

In a previous interview, Burton said this sequel is closer than ever to happening. I can’t wait to see these characters back together on the big screen. It’s going to be really interesting to see what has happened to them over the last 30 years. I can’t believe that it has been that long. 

Check out this awesome three-bladed crossguard lightsaber replica inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens! This is by far the coolest looking one I've seen so far. It's definitely way better than the 3D print version that we showed you. This new lightsaber design is sure to blow up at the conventions next year. We're going to see so many Star Wars cosplayers sporting this weapon, we might as well enjoy it while it's new and exciting. The creator of this prop did an amazing job of recreating what was briefly shown in the trailer. 

Via: Fashionably Geek

After seeing The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, my heart ached that we will probably never see any new movies set in Middle Earth again. Peter Jackson has spent the majority of his filmmaking career adapting the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien for the big screen. He has made six epically glorious films! I'm happy to report to the rest of you Middle Earth fans that Jackson is not ruling out making more of these movies.

He's not going to jump in anytime soon if it does happen, though. He has other things he'd like to focus on. This is what he told Variety:

If I had to start tomorrow, I would say no, because I definitely would appreciate a break to clear my head and get my little New Zealand stories done, which is where my passion and my heart is heading now. But ask me in two or three years, and I’d probably say yes. It would be hard to see another filmmaker go into this world, because I certainly have an emotional ownership of it.

So if there were plans to return to Middle Earth for another movie or three in the next couple of years, Jackson would be down to jump on board. Tolkien sold the film rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings back in the 1960s. The Tolkien estate still retains rights to the author’s other works, though, including The Silmarillion, which would have to be the next film project if there ever was one. Who knows if the Tolkien estate will ever allow Jackson to do it, though. I love what the director has done bringing these books to life. If he ends up making any more, I'll be a happy fan. 

Cosplayer EmberPhantom has taken this Batgirl cosplay to a new level by combining the character designs fro Batgirl from Batman: The Animated Series with the new, most recent Batgirl design. As you can see, the outfit features the yellow boots and accessories from the new Batgirl comics, but it also combines them with a black body suit instead of the purple pants and jacket. The photos were taken by Shannon Vetack Photography.

Via: Fashionably Geek

Download full image with German text

Possible Spoilers Ahead — You've Been Warned

I downloaded the PDF of the LEGO Germany catalog last night. It's 180mb and has over 160 pages. I extracted the images unencumbered with text. With a translation into English via io9, these LEGO sets give us some clues about how sequences we've seen in the trailer might be playing out.

Burglary At The Hydra Fortress

Looks like Captain America steals Loki's staff from Hydra. Must be the place where Cap was kicking the door in.

Duel With Hydra

I have a feeling that this is part of the burglary of Hydra.

Raid On The Avengers Tower

Early Ultron drones have Loki's staff. Perhaps the presence of the stolen staff corrupts Ultron, making him evil.

The Avengers Quinjet Chase

The Vision in minifig form working with the rest of the team.

Iron Man vs Ultron

Despite the name of the LEGO set, Ultron is not included, but two drones are.

Hulkbuster Rescue Mission

Includes the real Ultron. Based on the trailer, it doesn't seem like the Hulkbuster is rescuing the Hulk. Either the Scarlet Witch is controlling the Hulk or Ultron is controlling the Hulkbuster. This sequence might be the best part of the movie.

Source: LEGO Germany

Download full image without text

CineFix has released a fun and informative video pointing out nine things that you (probably) didn’t know about the classic John Hughes Christmas movie Home Alone. I just watched this movie again with my kids last week, and it never fails to entertain. It always manages to get the family cracking up with laughter. There’s actually a good amount of stuff included in the video that I wasn’t aware of, so it might just be worth checking out.

AAAAHHH! Time to re-watch a nostalgic favorite in the Christmas Movie genre: Home Alone. You may know every cheek-clutching scream, but do you know these behind-the-scenes facts?

While these bits of trivia may help you in defending your home against the Wet Bandits, they’ll make you sound super-well-informed at your next holiday movie viewing party, or meeting of the Macaulay Culkin fan club. 

Enjoy!

Before Paul Feig came around to reboot the Ghostbusters franchise for a new generation and launch a whole new franchise, there was a direct sequel to the original films that was in development for years. That project will never happen at this point, but some details have surfaced on what that sequel would have entailed.

Screenwriter Etan Cohen (Men In Black 3) completed a second Ghostbusters 3 draft. The film's producer, Ivan Reitman, who was attached to direct the film at the time, sent an email to Sony Pictures Chairman Amy Pascal that contained the second draft, and it reveals the title of the movie and his plan for the cast.

There's not much revealed about the plot, but it would have centered on Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) passing the franchise off to a younger generation of Ghostbusters. Sadly, a month after this email was sent, Ramis passed away. Soon after that, Reitman walked away from the director's chair, and the project kind of faded away.

The movie would have been called Ghostbusters: Alive Again. When it came to the casting, this is what Rietman suggested: 

The son of Bill Murray's Peter Venkman, Chris, could have been played by Adam Pally (The Mindy Project), Charlie Day (Pacific Rim), or Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network). Reitman told Pascal, "I have met with all three, and frankly this is the piece of casting I'm the most unsure about." I'm not sure what happened to Oscar, the son of Dana Barrett, but I guess it doesn't matter at this point. 

Jeremy was another lead character in the movie, and Jonah Hill (22 Jump Street) was the only actor listed for the part. The filmmaker said he was meeting with the actor soon to give him the latest script. This character has been described as being the leader of the new Ghostbusters.

The female lead in the story would have been a doctor named Anna, and Reitman met with Brie Larson (The Gambler) and Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises) for the role. Both had "expressed a strong desire to do it." 

The story also has a comic relief type character named Dean, and Reitman had Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) down for taking on the role. He still had not met with him when the email was sent.

As for the main villain, Gniewko, the director wanted Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) to take it on. He wanted to lock down the rest of the cast before pursuing the actor. Pascal had a different vision for the role, though, and wanted Will Ferrell to take it on. However, Reitman didn't believe Ferrell would be "effective" as the film's villain.

There were three other minor characters in the movie. Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) was wanted for Ashley, and she wanted the part. As you know, she is also up for a role in the version Feig is developing. Then there are Aubrey Plaza and Aziz Ansari, who were up for characters named Joni and Jon.

I have no idea how this would have turned out, but that seems like a pretty crazy cast they were looking to bring together. I still like the idea of Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt teaming up for a Ghostbusters movie more. You can read more about Feig's plans for the reboot here.

Via: CBM

Yesterday we showed you a cool video of pianist Sonya Belousova of PlayerPiano playing several classic Nintendo video game theme songs on the spot. Today we have another amazing video from the artist to share with you. It's a music video that features several musicians playing the theme song from the classic anime Akira, and it is stunningly beautiful. If you like what you hear and see, you can help them fund more awesomeness at the Indiegogo funding campaign HERE. 

Disney has released two new clips for their upcoming fairytale musical Into the Woods. The first clip features the Witch (Meryl Streep) telling the Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) what they need to do in order to get their curse reversed. The second clip features the Baker and his wife exchanging the magic beans for Jack’s (Daniel Huttlestone) cow. The movie seems to be getting decent reviews, and I'm looking forward to taking my kids to go see it.

Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.

The movie is set to be released on December 25th, 2015.

For those of you who loved Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Hot Toys has revealed the ultimate Baby Groot collectible! This thing is awesome! It's bendable at the arms and the waist, and it comes with a couple of interchangeable heads. As you'd expect from Hot Toys, the detail is perfection. Like many of you, I would love to get my hands on one of these! 

“We are Groot.” Marvel Studios’ blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy, has taken the world by storm earlier this year. Groot has become many fans’ favorite character and the special scene of Little Groot dancing to The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” has been one of the most memorable and cutest scenes from the movie!

Now Hot Toys is excited to present one of the cutest 1/4 scale collectible you’ll ever see - Little Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy! The movie-accurate Little Groot Collectible features 3 interchangeable head sculpts, special paint application to reflect his distinctive appearance, and movable arms and body to recreate Little Groot’s dancing scene.

This Little Groot collectible will be a great addition to your display that will bring smiles to people! 

Fans in Hong Kong can firstly purchase it directly at Hot Toys’ booth (F01-12) in Toy Soul 2014 from Dec 19 – 21. Please visit Hot Toys-Secret Base Facebook Page for details.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opens today, and I hope you go out and see it, because it's freakin' awesome! Two new featurettes have been released that you can check out of you want. The first is an IMAX featurette that includes Peter Jackson and the cast of the films reflecting on what they are going to miss most about Middle Earth. I know that as a fan of the saga, I’m going to miss the incredible journey that has been told in these stories. The second video focuses on 92-year old Christopher Lee returning to reprise his role, and damn, he sure does have a great scene in this movie! 

After The Lord of the Rings ended, I knew there was a good chance we would be able to return to Middle Earth again with The Hobbit. After this, though, that’s probably going to be it. The Tolkien estate owns everything else, and I don't think they are going to be sharing the rights of those properties with anyone any time soon. They don’t like what Jackson has done with the adaptation of the books. Jackson is open about doing another one somewhere down the line, but let's face it, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is probably it for us fans. At least we’ll always have the books, films, and our imaginations to visit Middle Earth whenever we want.

Tim Burton was one of the first director to venture into superhero movie territory, and he did a great job! I love what he did with Batman and Batman Returns, and with those films he kind of laid the foundation for what was to come. During an interview with Yahoo, he was asked about what he thought of the movies Marvel was making, and he didn’t seem very impressed.

“How many times can you say ‘you’re wearing a funny costume’ with the tights and stuff? That’s been going on for 20 years now. Yes, we all know that superheroes are damaged individuals. Maybe we need to see a happy superhero?”

With a statement like that, I’m not even sure if he’s seen any of the Marvel movies. No one ever really says “you’re wearing a funny costume,” in those movies. As for the whole happy superhero comment, that’s funny, because it comes from the guy who does dark films! He gave birth to the dark and serious superhero movies. On top of that, Marvel’s films do have light happy times and moments. Guardians of the Galaxy is the perfect example of that. They have a good mix of light and darkness. I think there's more lighter stuff in them than Burton's original Batman films, so I don’t know what he’s talking about. He went on to say,

“I remember Batman getting so much flak and criticism at the time for being too dark and now 20-30 years later, it now looks like a light-hearted romp. It’s such a strange thing to go through."

I still think the original Batman films he made are dark! Maybe he just hasn’t watched his own movies in awhile. Hell, maybe these comments just reflect what he thinks of all the DC movies that have been made since he last did Batman. He could have gotten the two comic publishers mixed up. That would make more sense as to why he was say those things.

It looks like Joss Whedon is once again going to blow Marvel fans away with the Avengers. The footage we've seen from Avengers: Age of Ultron looks insanely cool, but there's still so much more that has yet to be revealed. There are a bunch of interviews with the director from the set of the film that have surfaced, and in them he discusses a lot of different aspects about the movie, including the fact that he initially didn't want to do it! He explained to /Film,

"I didn’t actually want to make the film necessarily. I was ragged from the first one, and so I just turned off my brain. I was like, do not think of cool ideas for the next one. Just get through this. But after a few months when they talked about, um… This is now something that makes sense in my life; do I have anything to say? And so my agent calls, I was in London, and he called me and said there’s a deal that’s worth talking about- time to start to think about whether there’s a movie. And I’m going, all right. I went to a pub and sat down with my notebook, and about forty-five minutes later, my notebook was filled. And I texted my agent 'yup' and I have so many things to say and I was kind of surprised. It took me unaware. It was very beautiful."

I'm glad he did return to the franchise, but it's looking more and more like he's not going to be jumping back in for a third after this. As you've probably heard, Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) may take over the reins. When asked if Whedon used those notes he wrote down in the pub in this upcoming film he said:

"A lot of them, a lot of them. And there’s some that you’re like, this is it; this is the heart of… and then that doesn’t work. But generally speaking it’s character stuff, really. It’s definitely not plot stuff because that’s the stuff that you can pull out of yourself with agony. The character stuff, can these people connect and these people can’t connect, and we can tear them apart and bring them together, and have this insight into the character. That’s the stuff that makes me wanna make a film. Not like, 'oh, and then there’s a cool plot twist.' I have to have a mind for that."

He then talks about the success in the Hulk in the first movie and explains why we haven't seen another Hulk solo film yet.

"Well, I wasn’t the one who said don’t make a Hulk film or anything like that. It was, Kevin said to me, we think right now it’s good to have somebody who could only be in the Avengers. Everybody loves Mark [Ruffalo]. He’s phenomenal. But the fact that there hasn’t been a Hulk [movie] since that Hulk, it doesn’t suck. My job is hard enough, you know. Cap’s had a movie, Thor’s had a movie. Everyone’s gone through big changes, Iron Man had a movie, and so I have to juggle everybody’s perception of that while still making a movie that you can see having not seen any except the first Avengers, or not even that."

That makes sense, Hawkeye seems to fit into the same area as being a character that could only be in The Avengers. Of course, there's been talk of a standalone film for him. I would still love to see Hulk eventually get a solo movie with Ruffalo. Maybe it will happen in Phase 4 or 5. We do know that the Hulk's role has been beefed up for Age of Ultron, though, so that's something fans have to look forward to. Whedon goes on to discuss how he handled giving Hulk a bigger role in the film, saying,

"[Hulk's] monologue about his childhood is very poignant and lacks pronouns. No. Um, you know, the talking thing is something that I sort of pitch it and I take it away. It’s moment to moment. Done wrong, it could kill ya. So, I’m pretty leery about that. But Banner has a significant role, and the Hulk,  we really held back on him for a long while in the first one. And said, there’s something terrible coming that you’ll love. And what just what makes the Hulk so hard to write is that you’re pretending he’s a werewolf when he’s a superhero. You want to — you want it vice versa. You want to see him, Banner doesn’t want to see him, but you don’t want Banner to be that guy who gets in the way of you seeing him. So the question is, how has he progressed? How can we bring changes on what the Hulk does? And that’s not just in the screenplay. That’s moment to moment, because even when they are putting in post mix and temp mix you know, they have a library of two roars. 'Aaarrgh! Uuurrgh!' What if he wasn’t roaring? I’m angry, and I’m not roaring. I’m being very polite to a lot of reporters, but I’m filled with rage."

The director also talks about the rest of the characters in the franchise, and how they are strong, but damaged by power. He says,

"Well, you know, 'strong but damaged by power' describes every person in this movie. It may, in fact, describe what the movie is about. You know, the more power that we have, the less human we are. Her damage pre-dates her power, and these kids they’ve had a rough history." 

He cited Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein saying:

“In the Marvel universe, there’s a lot of Frankensteins. Steve Rogers himself, one of the better-looking Frankensteins of our era. There’s a lot of people whether they’re trying to do good or bad, who think they have the next big idea. And the next big idea is usually a very bad one.”

Of course by Frankenstein, I'm sure he's referring to the monster, and not the doctor. As for Ultron, the main villain of the story, Whedon wanted him to be involved from the very beginning, and it looks like he brought that character to life brilliantly.

"Well, Ultron feels a certain distance from humanity, and the day Spader got here we put on the mocap pajamas, a giant thing with red dots on it for his eye line, giant pack, and a helmet with two cameras in his face with lights to record his performance, he then did a scene with Scarlet. But not look him in the eye because she was looking up in his eye line, and nor could he see her because he had two lights shining in his face, and he had his glasses on.

"Therefore, he has a certain distance from humanity, too. And god bless him, he was wonderful. And very game. He has been the whole time. Very interested in the mechanics, to find the humanity. He and I share a genuine love of this version of Ultron, and he has an innate eccentricity in delivery that is everything that I had hoped Ultron would be.

"You know, for me, there’s always a point where I’m writing where [I go], you know, they’re right! The Avengers sucked! Got to do something about that. We got to take care of these guys. Hopefully, you will come out of this, if not agreeing with him, [at least] getting him, and getting his pain, which leads to a lot of damage, and some humor, and how’s he different. I mean, villains are different from each other. The important thing for me is he’s not this external thing. He’s not Independence Day. I’m not criticizing that movie, but I’m saying that it’s not like we spent some time on the alien going, oh, I hate that Will Smith! Punched me right in the face! The first day there! When he’s in his scenes, you want to feel like he will never understand that he’s not the hero."

Whedon kept tight lipped about many of the details, but you can read the full lengthy interview here. I'm just filled with excitement for this movie. I hope it's not Whedon's last Marvel film, but if it is, it looks like it will be a good send off for him.

The movie hits theaters on May 1st, 2015.

Over the years, Marvel has done a ton of crossover comics, one of the most recent was The Avengers and Attack on Titan. It was short, but it was really freakin' cool. Affter doing a little research I came across six Marvel crossover comics that were ridiculous. The comic book publisher sure has some doozies over the years. Most of them offer some good, fun entertainment, while others simply sucked. Check out the list below:

Eminem/Punisher - Kill You

In 2009, Frank Castle and Marshall Mathers team up after the Punisher kills a bunch of Eminem’s bodyguards over a misunderstanding. After a concert, Punisher stops the limo from leaving so Slim-Shady and his entourage get out angrily to make him get out of the way. So what does Punisher do? He just automatically opens fire, killing many of them. After Eminem pistol whips Punisher, and an assassin named Barracuda tries to kill the rap star on behalf of the Parents Music Council, the two team up to fight for their lives. Apparently Eminem had a lot of input in the comic. Here’s the synopsis:

Eminem is performing at a concert, and once the show is concluded, he leaves in a limo. They are stopped by the Punisher who is standing right where they need to go. Eminem and his crew get out angrily to move him out of their way, but Punisher merely opens fire on them, killing many of them. Eminem runs, firing behind him as he does so, but is pulled into a building by Barracuda.

Believing Barracuda to have saved him, Eminem goes with him to a house, and wait to ambush the Punisher. Eminem gets the drop on Castle and smacks him in the face with the butt of his gun, knocking him out. However, he quickly found out Punisher wasn't after him at all, and that Barracuda was not trying to save him, as Barracuda shoots him in a non-vital organ and causes him to become knocked out.

Eminem wakes up on a boat chained to Punisher outside Detroit. Punisher starts to argue with him about their situation. Barracuda arrives to kill them, and throws Eminem of the boat and onto the frozen water, but it does not break. Barracuda looks for his sniper rifle, and Punisher attacks.

Eminem runs out onto the frozen lake, somehow escaping from his chains, and finds an ice fisher. The ice fisher is a huge fan, and says he'll do anything for him. Eminem asks to borrow his chainsaw for cutting ice for a moment. He runs back to the boat and sees Punisher getting beat-up badly. He grabs Barracuda's attention, then chops him up with the chainsaw. Savoring the moment for a minute, Eminem realizes Punisher has a gun to his head.

Punisher tells him he is going to the Parents Music Council for contracting a killer. Eminem floats off into the sunset, and says, "Do me a favor and tell 'em Shady sent you."

The Avengers on Late Night with David Letterman

David Letterman is set to retire in the near future, and in his long career as a late night host he managed to make it into an Avengers comic Book for Marvel. The comic was released in 1963 as part of “Assistant Editors Month,” in which Marvel editors turned over the reins of their titles to their assistants for a bunch of crazy stories, and The Avengers on Late Night With David Letterman was one of them. 

The comic centered around an incredibly lame superhero named Wonder Man who would get booked on Late Night with David Letterman if his Avengers pals tag along with him. Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor were all out busy doing their thing the night of Wonder Man’s appearance, so he gets stuck with Hawkeye, Black Widow, Beast, and Black Panther. Things take a turn for the worse when a villainous inventor named Fabian Stankowicz takes over the show to get revenge on the Avengers for not letting him be a member of their team. 

Letterman isn’t too happy with this guy taking over his show so he takes out the villain with a giant oversized doorknob prop. I’m not sure why he used an oversized doorknob, unless it was just one of those 60s comedy routine things. 

So without “Avengers” assistant editor Mike Carlin’s Letterman fandom, this comic would have never existed.  

Hawkeye and Mockingbird arrive at Avengers Mansion following the events of the Hawkeye limited series. They find the mansion empty except for the Vision. Wonder Man calls Avengers Mansion with the news that his agent has arranged an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman if he brings the Avengers with him. The Vision rounds up Avengers Reservists the Beast, Black Panther and Black Widow to join Hawkeye and Wonder Man on Letterman. Minutes after settling in for their interview, the Avengers are attacked by the nefarious machines of Fabian Stankowicz. While the Avengers are busy fighting the machines, Stankowicz takes the stage to talk to Letterman. After humoring Stankowicz for a few moments, Dave knocks him out with a giant doorknob prop. The Avengers soon have the battle machines taken care of and head home.

Spider-Man and SNL 

In 1978, the year I was born, a “Marvel Team-Up” comic brought together Spider-Man with the cast of Saturday Night Live. It was called Spider-Man and The Not-read-For-Prime-Time Players! The insane storyline for the comic pit Spider-Man and the cast of SNL against the Silver Samurai and his thugs.

The comic came from legendary writer Chris Claremont, and he portrayed the cast as fearless heroes. Of course, in real life, the SNL cast was known for partying hard and waking up with hangovers. The comic included Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, Jane Cutin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner.

The most awesome thing about it is that the battle took place during the taping of an episode of SNL that was being hosted by Stan Lee. 

I love that in both real life and the comic book universe, Stan Lee writes comics about superheroes. 

Maybe Sony Pictures should make a Spider-Man film based on this comic! I’d watch it! 

"Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!" Guest-starring Spider-Man and the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Script by Chris Claremont. Pencils by Bob Hall. Inks by Marie Severin. Cover by Dave Cockrum and Marie Severin. In a crossover ahead of its time, Marvel's premier superhero meets the cast of one of the hottest TV comedy shows of the 1970's! Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker have tickets to Saturday Night Live! But before the show begins, John Belushi receives a package that contains a mystic ring. The ring seems harmless, so John puts the ring on his finger. However, someone else wants that ring very badly...the Silver Samurai! When Peter sees an SNL production member being attacked, the Amazing Spider-Man leaps into action! And on stage with the bright lights shining and the cameras rolling, the wall-crawler and John Belushi cross swords with the Silver Samurai! 

X-Men and Star Trek

This 1996 comic could just be one of the most geektastically pointless comic crossovers ever. It was basically thrown together to quickly capitalize off of the popularity of the franchises. The comic book was pretty bad, and the story was filled with complicated alternate dimensional traveling and alien politics. I guess it was released at a time when Marvel was slapping anything with an X on it to make a buck.

The book chronicles the first encounter between Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise (during the five-year mission of the original series) and members of the X-Men, who traveled through a dimensional rift chasing the mutant Proteus. This was the first of the Star Trek comic books produced by Marvel for the Paramount Comics line.

Here’s detailed plot summary:

Returning to the planet Delta Vega, site of the deaths of Lt. Cmdr. Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise encounter a rift of psionic energy in space, through which travels a starship of Shi'ar design. The ship is quickly destroyed by the spatial anomaly, though not before Spock detects that it carried seven lifeforms of "near human" nature. A second, larger Shi'ar craft comes through the rift, which promptly fires an unusual projectile at the Enterprise: Gladiator of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, who warns the Enterprise away from the planet and drives his point home by striking the ship's deflector shields, causing some actual damage to the vessel as a result. (Kirk: "Did he just... punch my ship?")

Meanwhile, the seven crew members of the destroyed ship are revealed to be members of the X-Men - Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Storm, Gambit, and Bishop - who managed to transport to the Enterprise before their own vessel's destruction, though they are hiding to avoid detection. As Dr. McCoy discovers Beast and Storm sneaking Gambit into Sick Bay for medical attention, Spock has sensed the presences of the X-Men on board and confronts the remaining members, engaging Wolverine in combat and actually putting him under for a few moments with the Vulcan nerve pinch. The X-Men and the Enterprise crew soon settle their differences and meet to discuss the purpose of the mutants' trip to what they presume is an alternate universe: both they and the other Shi'ar ship, commanded by the renegade Deathbird are tracking the consciousness of the powerful reality-altering mutant Proteus, who has traveled through the rift to Delta Vega and has reanimated the corpse of Lt. Mitchell, who had developed similar powers in the days leading up to his death.

Beaming down to the planet, the X-Men and the Enterprise command crew discover two things: first, that the surface had been transformed to resemble a Scottish village, and second, that Deathbird and the Imperial Guard beat them there, and offered Proteus/Mitchell the use of their ship in return for establishing an alliance. While Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit, Storm, and members of the Enterprise crew fight off the Imperial Guard and Proteus' physical form, Jean Grey and Captain Kirk psionically appealed to the remaining consciousness of Mitchell and determine that the only way to win was to, once again, kill Mitchell's physical form. Beast, Spock, and Mr. Scott construct a way to direct the Enterprise's phaser energy through Bishop's energy channeling powers, and that, combined with the crew's own phasers and the powers of the X-Men succeeds in ending the Proteus/Mitchell entity's existence.

The battle over, the X-Men commandeer the Imperial Guard's starship and return home through the rift, expressing their happiness that after experiencing a multitude of alternate futures, they finally encountered one that seemed hopeful.

This is one of those comics that is hard to find, but if you really want to read it, you might be able to find it in a landfill somewhere.

Archie Meets The Punisher

I don’t know how this happened, but in 1994 Archie and the murderous vigilante Punisher crossed paths. This was a one-shot comic book crossover that was published under two separate covers. One by Marvel Comics and the other by Archie Comics.

The Punisher was tracking down a drug dealer who happened to looked exactly like Archie. This has got to be one of the most hilarious misunderstandings ever! The Punisher hunting down Archie! Some of the other Archie characters get pulled into the story including Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats.

This was such an unlikely crossover, and it ended with a tease of Wolverine meeting Jughead, which is a crossover that unfortunately never happened.

The Punisher has made a deal with the government to hunt down a notorious drug dealer named "Red" who is hiding in Riverdale. The deal requires him to forgo his normally lethal methods and apprehend the suspect instead of killing him, since the federals wish to interrogate Red about the drug trafficking on the East Coast. This is fortunate, because Red looks exactly like Archie (save for a prominent set of buck teeth). However, this circumstance also unintentionally causes a lot of trouble for Archie, as various drug mobsters who wish to even the scores on the market decide to do away with Red before he can endanger their business one way or another.

While the Punisher initially also falls for this similarity, he quickly realizes his mistake and henceforth teams up with Archie to save his girlfriend Veronica, who was kidnapped by Red. All parties remain completely in character throughout the issue, although Riverdale's inherent innocence compels the Punisher to allow his true quarry to live, for once. The comic ends with the joking suggestion that the next crossover will be between Wolverine and Jughead.

Guiding Light

I don’t know why, but in 2009 Marvel published a comic crossover with the day time soap opera Guiding Light. Seriously, I don’t know a single person that reads comics that also watches soap operas. Not only that, but it’s one of those soap operas that your grandma probably watched. 

The bizarre mini-comic featured the first and only appearance of a superheroine called The Guiding Light. It also involved Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the rest of the Avengers as they visit the show’s town of Springfield in order to meet this new superhero. By the end of the story she loses her electrical-based powers.
 
The Guiding Light producers even did an episode where one of the cast members gained superpowers in a freak accident. The episode was called “She’s a Marvel,” and I included a trailer for it below. After a 72-year run, Guiding Light was canceled, and it ended with a superhero introduced into their universe. Obviously, trying to appeal to a new generation of kids didn’t work.

Returns from the dead. Evil twins. Secret from the past. Super-powers. These are all staples of the comic book world and now the soap opera world, too! Wait, even the super-powers, you ask? Why yes, and Marvel has partnered with the daytime drama Guiding Light to prove it! In the first-ever comic-soap crossover, Marvel's mightiest heroes (and villains) meet some of daytime drama's steamiest characters. The Avengers and their deadly foes descend on Guiding Light's city of Springfield to determine if a new super-powered being is friend or foe! Appearing in comics as an 8-page back-up beginning 10/26 and written by soap-and-comic scribe Jim McCann, this adventure will actually be the second appearance of this new super-powered character. The debut and origin of Springfield's first costumed crime-fighter will be told on air on the November 1st episode of Guiding Light. As an added bonus, the episode will feature many "Easter eggs" for sharp-eyed Marvel fans, so be on the lookout! This crossover represents a unique partnership between Marvel, and Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc (PGP), the producers of Guiding Light. As fans will recall, Storm's wedding dress, featured in her wedding to T'Challa in Black Panther #18, was designed by Guiding Light costume designer Shawn Dudley. Both Marvel and PGP are thrilled about this opportunity for audience cross-pollination, especially Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. "This is just one more way that we're trying to reach out beyond our usual audience in an effort to expose those who don't know anything about the greatness of comics and hopefully come back with a few new converts," he says. "And hopefully some of our fans will find themselves with a new habit as well- Guiding Light!" Another great aspect of this partnership is that Guiding Light and Marvel will be cross promoting each other to help drive fans not only to watch the episode but also to pick up one of the comics in a local comic shop.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a new clip from DC Entertainment's animated film Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. The story follows Justice League members Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, as they team up with a new superhero named Aquaman. Together they set out on a journey to prevent a war between the inhabitants of land and sea. 

The clip shows us the initial discovery by Cyborg and Colonel Steve Trevor of "the event that could lead to a war between Atlantis and the surface dwellers, [which] sends the Justice League in search of Arthur Curry." Here’s the synopsis of the movie:

In Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, Cyborg discovers an imminent threat in the depths of the oceans so powerful that it rallies together the newly formed Justice League. Meanwhile, wandering thousands of feet above the ocean floor is drifter Arthur Curry, a man with strange powers who may be the last chance to bridge the ancient Atlantean world with our own. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League must band together as they face off against warmongering Orm, an army of sea creatures, otherworldly weapons and perilous odds. In this all-new epic adventure from the DC Universe, mankind’s only hope of escaping from the darkness lies with the guiding light of a man – Aquaman!

The voice cast of the film includes Matt Lanter (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 90210) as Aquaman, Sam Witwer (Being Human, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as Orm, Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova, Vegas, Life on Mars) as Batman, Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs) as Flash, Nathan Fillion (Castle) as Green Lantern, Shemar Moore(Criminal Minds) as Cyborg, Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as Wonder Woman, Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan, Stand By Me) as Superman, Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) as Shazam, Sumalee Montano (Beware the Batman, Transformers Prime) as Mera, Sirena Irwin (Superman: Unbound) as Queen Atlanna, and Harry Lennix (Man of Steel, The Blacklist) as Manta. 

The movie will be released on January 27th, 2015.

For those of you space enthusiasts out there, you've got to check out this incredibly awesome jacket inspired by the classic spacesuit designs from NASA. The jacket comes from SpaceLife and for a $1849 price tag you'd think it could actually protect you in space, but it doesn't have that ability. The only thing this jacket has going for it is the ultra cool factor. 

The design of the jacket takes inspiration from the classic spacesuit and offers many technical features as well as excellent protection from the elements . The exterior of the jacket is made from a unique trilobal fiber which is both waterproof and light-reflecting. The hood includes built-in speakers, controllable via Bluetooth® or via the integrated remote on your sleeve which also allows you to effortlessly control your phone. The jacket comes in a special SPACELIFE ambassadors kit, containing various space-inspired accessories.

You can order it now, but it doesn’t start shipping until September 2015. Anyone out there planning on dropping that kind of cash for this thing? 

Via: Fashionably Geek

Some new information has surfaced on the inclusion of the Grayson's in Gotham. A few weeks ago we learned that Robin's parents would appear this season, and now we have some details.

The news comes from TV Line, who says a casting call has gone out to agencies for John Grayson and Mary Lloyd. They are described as "teenage circus performers who will figure into Episode 16 and hint at the origin of a certain boy Wonder." Showrunner Bruno Heller previously had this to say about it:

“We’re going to do a prenatal origin story for Robin down the line. There are no MRIs involved. There’s an episode coming up where we learn how Robin’s parents got together.”

They go on to reveal that in Episode 17, two recurring characters will be introduced that include "Dr. Dulmacher (aka another Dollmaker), this time conceived as a mad European scientist, and Reggie Payne, an old army buddy of Alfred’s who has gone a bit to seed."

I don't suspect that we'll see Robin ever make an appearance in the series. After all, if the series runs its entire course it will only lead up to the point where Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Using his parents is a fun way to build the mythology of the character though. 

How often have you wanted to shoot a fireball from your hands? If you're like me, the answer is everyday, all day.

Pyro is a wrist-worn device by Ellusionist.com that's intended for magicians/illusionists. After 2 years of development it's nearly here. At $174, the device is far from cheap but, honestly, would you want it to be? Able to shoot up to four fireballs with a controllable range up to 10 feet. In skilled hands the Pyro could be a crazy thing to behold. I'm pretty sure more daring cosplay artists are looking at how to incorporate this into Iron Man, Ryu, and Goku cosplay.

The Pyro is activated using a remote that works from up to 30 feet away. It's super discrete, rugged, and reliable. It uses flash cotton and paper for the fireballs which is pretty standard material for this kind of illusion.

The site currently says that pre-orders are expected to ship December 22nd. So if you don't get it in time for Christmas, you can use it to light up the night on New Year's.

H/T: Ohgizmo

Sony Pictures has officially scrapped James Franco and Seth Rogen's comedy The Interview, and they will not be releasing it on December 25th. The decision comes after the hackers threatened to blow up movie theaters if the film was released. 

Sony has gone through a whirlwind these past couple of weeks, and they finally decided to back off and let the hackers have their way. I'm not a fan of anyone screwing around with our right to freedom of speech and expression, but I understand why Sony made this decision, and I support their decision. It's just so weird and it sucks that all of this happened over a harmless movie to entertain audiences.

The question is, will the hackers finally back off of Sony and let them put their business back together? Here's the full statement that the studio released:

In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.

Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.

Smosh Games targets the video game League of Legends and fires off the insults for their latest Honest Game Trailer. This is an extremely popular multiplayer online battle arena game that was developed and published by Riot Games. I've never played it, but it looks pretty damn entertaining! This Honest Trailer sold me on it! I'm not sure if that's what these videos are supposed to do, but it happened. 

From the studio, whose name would have you believe it made more than one game, comes one of the best games of all time that your parents didn't have to buy for you - League of Legends.