Fan Expo 2014

This year was going to be a bit different. Mainly, I wasn't going to lie to myself. Every year before The Expo, I tell myself that I'm going to inventory my comics, and create a list of "wants" for the show. It could be as simple as filling in some gaps to complete a run, or a hunt for a specific storyline that I'm interested in. One year, I actually did an inventory, one that I refer back to at times, but one that is also incomplete in both accuracy and details. Over the years, I've picked up a few items but have failed to update that inventory. The end result is often aimless wandering and random purchases - if I can bring myself to purchase anything at all. Twenty fourteen though, this year will be different. And it was.

The Amazing Spider-Man issue #300 can be considered a holy grail for my collection, if you will. When I
was younger and started collecting, the run of comics done by artists Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen were fresh in the back issue bins. I saved up my allowance over the course of a few weeks to buy Amazing Spider-Man #316, with a brilliant cover by McFarlane, depicting Venom taking down our titular hero. It's an aggressive cover, which also happens to be Venom's first "cover appearance," with bold colours, fast action lines and great peril. I couldn't really buy more than that, but would slowly pick up issues where I could, resulting in a perfect candidate to complete at something like the Fan Expo.

In the weeks leading up to the Expo, I decided I would complete the run from issue #300 to #400, which would take approximately forty issues - more than I thought, but quite attainable. The main obstacle, would be #300. Over the eight years I've been attending Fan Expo, I've kept an eye on the price - it was high, then seemingly came down for a bit but has now steadily rose again. I believe the advent of grading and the general age and increased interest in comics contributes to the increase in price, but mainly grading. At the show, I saw graded issues ranging from $240 to $900, and ungraded issues from $130 to $600. I was hoping not to spend more than $100 on the single issue. Something that could be done, perhaps through eBay, but I wasn't certain on the condition that the comic would be in for such a price. Indeed, I hadn't thought of condition at all for anything.

At the Expo, I undertook my task and picked up six issues, all early 300's with McFarlane's art. They were half price, their condition looked decent and they were serving their purpose for my task. It felt good. It felt great, actually. Rifling through back issue bins, on the hunt, transported me back to the prime of my collecting days. I kept an eye out for #300 and saw it everywhere, but the price was something I wasn't prepared for. Then I saw something: a Marvel Omnibus that collected The Amazing Spider-Man issues #296-329, and one issue from Spectacular. The collected works focuses on the collaboration of writer David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, but also features some other artists (including Larsen). It happens to collect many of the issues I am looking for, including the holy grail itself.

The book is massive at over 800 pages. It has substance. It would intimidate the other books on the shelf. It was also $100. Breaking that down, would be a decent value for each issue inside, and quite the value, considering that many of those issues go for more than $10 or $20 a piece. I put it back on the table, looked around, then picked it up again. Could I do this? I've never spent so much on a book before. I put it down, and walked away. My mind needed to be cleared up, but it was full of questions. Did I want individual issues? Was having the originals that important? Was it a waste? Did I want to collect, or read? Both?

I came back to the vendor with my mind mad up: I was going to buy it, and I did. The lady handing the cash gave me a big smile, said she saw it in my eyes that I couldn't resist the book. I really couldn't. In my walk, I looked the book up on Amazon and saw that it was selling for more than the asking price at the show, and it could very well have been out of print. One commented that it's in your best interest to sell your individual copies and buy this with the profits. The pages are glossy, the colour has been reconstructed and the ads stripped away. There is a small amount of bonus content - not much, but that wasn't the point. You got everything here, in better shape and clarity than you would the individual issues.

When I got back to my friend's place I quickly opened it up, and was able to compare the same pages within to one of the issues I bought separately. The difference was astounding, and I knew then, that I made the right decision. It would be read, enjoyed and displayed on the shelf, instead of hidden away in long boxes that haven't seen the light of day in years. I was no longer needing to collect every issue in the run from #300 to #400, although I will certainly keep an eye out for issues that I'm missing and are not covered in this collection. It was the right thing to do: I knew that I wasn't the same collector as I was twenty years ago, and didn't need to recreate that person. For the first time, I've acknowledged and accepted where I am and what I was doing in terms of comic collecting. The moment of clarity occurred in the seething masses of comic book fans during the Fan Expo: a chaotic environment, to be sure. It's on that show floor that decisions are made, and boys become comic book men.

As a result, my experience at the Fan Expo this year was absolutely positive. I picked up a few other nice items, and my friend Cale fulfilled his goals. We tried something a little different this year, in that we split up a couple of times to tend to our vices. Cale, in the hunt for video games and merch, and Ryebone, on the hunt for deeply discounted comics. We lost ourselves in time. We arrived early at the Expo, and stayed later than usual. Not until we found ourselves in the car heading home did we pay attention to the screams of our aching feet, or feeling the pain in my shoulder from carrying around a bag full of hardcover comics. Like children, we got home and splayed our bounty in front of Cale's wife, gushing over the deal and significance of each item. It was a ritual that I was fast falling in love with: a modern incarnation of showing your parents your haul from the comic book shop, only to be met with rolled eyes and bemused laughter.

It's time to cross some items off the list, and add new ones. We're only a few days past the event, and I'm ready for next year.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

That the general public wasn't ready for a Spider-Man reboot ten years after the release of the "original" in 2002 is proven by the relatively poor box office numbers the new one has managed to do. However, I think it's safe to say that everyone is happy that it wasn't as bad as Spider-Man 3, which was a boneheaded mess (for the most part). I didn't really care for The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, but it wasn't terrible. I like to think that it would have done much better if it wasn't overshadowed by Marvel's runaway juggernaut of The Avengers films. And as time keeps on churning, the need to bring the largest Marvel properties back into the fold of the home studio is becoming more pertinent with every release. Sony did a good job twelve years ago, but Marvel came in and disrupted the whole thing. We wanted a crossover with X-Men as well back then, but the fact that different studios licensed our beloved characters all but cemented that this will not happen. Enter Marvel, who turned the comic book movie industry on it's head. With the advent of Spider-Man 2, Sony is talking about a similar structure, albeit with purely Spidey related characters - the only ones they are licensed for. They're talking Sinister Six and spin off movies, so it's relevant to look at this singular movie not only as a Spider-Man sequel, but as a setting off point for a gargantuan franchise of movies, television series and toy lines.


The first movie in this series did not impress me. I felt as though they messed with the origin of Spider-Man just a bit too much: they took him away from the wrestling ring yes, but what really got me was Peter Parker as a character. That is to say, he was ass. And I don't want to discredit that Parker was an ass in the original story, but he had good reason for it (kind of). My issue is that Parker is an ass throughout the entire film. He's kind of a passive aggressive bully with a jerk attitude that just didn't fly with me. I chalked it up to modern times: this is a remake for the current generation. I realized that Spider-Man was not being written for me anymore, but molded into a persona that current kids can relate to. So yeah, I'm just too old now, great. There were also a few ridiculous elements in the movie, and maybe too-convenient coincidences but overall, it was a decent ride, just not entirely my thing. As a child, I collected Spider-Man comics like it was nobody's business - they make up the bulk of my collection. And today, when I look at a modern comic or storyline, I become bewildered, and swing back to my old collection of eighties and nineties comics where I find comfort in the writing and art styles (except Spectacular Spider-Man, the art always bothered me in that title).

So I was pleasantly surprised in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was pretty good!

First, there was the acting, which I think has improved greatly since the first iteration. Garfield is definitely hitting a comfort spot here and has dropped the smug, jerk like mannerisms. Emma Stone turns in another good performance, as she has more to work with in this film. What it equates to real, genuine (I'm buying it) on screen chemistry which helps the film quite a bit and actually leaves the original trilogy in the dust (many moments between Maguire and Dunst were just weird). The rest of the cast, including Foxx as Electro, is full of talent and put in decent performances.

This isn't a Spider-Man origin story, which helps (for me) my enjoyment of the film. We've sat through enough already, so moving on to something new feels refreshing. Tackling new villains is perfect, although I will say that I don't feel as though Electro had much motivation or screen time. The same could be said for other villains, although I appreciate that Rhino merely book-ended the film, which lends itself to appearing in future movies. It's become pretty defacto that our favourite villains will be enhanced through technology, as opposed to their original powers. X-Men set the standard for costumes that will work on screen, and this is no different, as the villains take on somewhat realistic looks, although I'm glad to see them go over the top a bit. Electro looked very cool, although it reminded me too much of a recent video game release. You could easily say the movie dragged on too long - and it did. The movie's plot didn't necessarily focus on what I want it to, and spent a lot of time on Peter and Gwen's relationship. Which is great and all, but I got it already, you know? The movie isn't necessarily subtle, and because of this, I feel it wastes some time here and there.

Spider-Man, as depicted on the streets fighting crime, has matured a bit in his juvenility: he's quick with his wit, and is more comfortable with both criminals and fighting. He's tormented though, and in wanting to protect everyone he pushes them away. With great power, right? I'm really looking forward to the third film now, to see where Spider-Man's actual character goes: they introduce villains but they also grow Spidey's character, so we should have a fairly solid trilogy. Then where? Well, they were talking about Sinister Six, which is always classic. They've firmly established that all these great villains will be a byproduct of Oscorp special projects working in the dark, which is fine I suppose; it's a popular comic book trope. Spin off movies? Maybe we can get a Black Cat film to help fill the lack of female heroes on screen. He has one of the largest, most diverse rogues gallery in the industry, so there is a lot to tap into. We got a glimpse of a solid Sandman story in Spider-Man 3 (I believe - if the rumours are true - that he was the focus of the third film, when the studio forced Raimi to include more villains and plot than the movie could sustain) that was driven not by a greedy criminal, but a man trying to make ends and doing anything for his family. Done right and with some actual character study, there could be a long list of movies featuring Spider-Man villains that could lead into a mixed movie. They could do for villains what The Avengers did for heroes, and because it hasn't really been done before, it would feel fresh.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

"Chris Evans is a wall of a man."

If you're going to take anything away from this movie, I guess that would be suitable. The guy is massive, most likely impossibly so, but it plays well to the new found depiction of the Captain's displayed feats of strength throughout the film. That's not to say he didn't display some pretty impressive feats beforehand, but I feel as though it keeps intensifying every time he's on screen. In the sequel, The Winter Soldier, we get treated to the Captain blasting through walls and tearing down obstacles with ease, as well as taking care of regular villains with ease. We feel the weight, and the power, of The Winter Soldier himself, which makes his match up with Captain more significant. Yes, the action is incredible - as it should be - but there is much more to this movie.

Part of the issue of Captain America is that I frankly don't know much about him. Yes, I grew up collecting comic books but I never read the Captain, or any other of The Avengers. So Marvel's multi-phase rollout of an Avengers centric movie universe is two things: exciting and nerve-wracking. Exciting because it's new (to me), and nerve-wracking because I feel this tremendous guilt about not knowing enough about what's on screen, and that I'm going to miss out on little bits of fan service. I also get some people (who know my background with comics) asking for more information, but I really have none - although I will typically try and act like I know something, at least. However, there is the stigma around the Captain, in where he draws comparison to the negative traits of DC's All-American Superman: he's a goody two shoes, with incorruptible moral guidelines that put them both on the side of frustration, especially for today's modern darkly driven characters. This is beginning to shift, as we saw in last year's Man of Steel movie, and was tackled well enough during television's Smallville, where Clark's bridled morals were often put to the test. When done properly, it can create compelling story. And you'll notice that I don't have any Captain America examples to utilize; instead, all I can lean on is the general, mainstream pop-culture driven sentiment that many of my friends have expressed, which in general, is that Captain America is a boring, unbending muscle of American patriotism.

It would come as no surprise then - with this negatively skewed outlook on our hero - that we are all so pleasantly surprised to have actually enjoyed the Captain's foray into the film industry. I recall clearly not only the doubt and hesitation, but the questioning of how good a Captain America film could be. Then, we saw it. And we were incredibly impressed. Captain America: The First Avenger provided the origin of Steven Rogers becoming the super soldier during World War II. We weren't inundated with pro-America messages and morals: we were treated to a good character who wanted to fight the good fight in any way he could. It didn't matter who the villain was; Rogers wanted to fight for his friends who were dying, and to put down any bullies - a battle he was losing his entire life. When he is giving the opportunity, he takes it: injecting himself with a super-soldier serum of sorts, he takes on the role of protector. Not necessarily protecting his country, but protecting his fellow soldiers. What I liked about this film, and Captain America, was that they don't cover up some of the atrocities of war: he's a soldier, accepts that fatalities will happen, but does his best to prevent them while maintaining the integrity of the mission. That is to say, he's not going to get all emo when his best buds die in battle: they all know the risks. The movie also follows the classic underdog structure, which is difficult to not appreciate.

All that being said, it's easy in The First Avenger to do the good thing: Hitler and Red Skull are truly evil, and there are clear goals to go after. In The Winter Soldier, the situation becomes more clouded. The threat here isn't alien or foreign, it's our own government (well, the American government at least). Marvel really pulls something off here: he makes Captain America relatable, as both he and us are learning about surveillance, secret operations and what our government has planned for us for the first time (or at least, bringing those elements into the spotlight). The plot becomes incredibly relevant in light of all the leaks of classified documents, and the attempt of government to push aside privacy at the expense of "catching the terrorists" through complex bills. The world in The First Avenger was - for lack of a better word - simpler. The modern day, including the one depicted in The Winter Soldier, is rife with complexities that require some careful thinking and cautious treading. Captain American wants to do what's right, but he may have aligned himself with forces that operate in the grey. His moral compass is put to the test throughout, as he finds himself alone for the first time as he is being chased and unable to entirely trust anybody, including his allies.

With all the complexities and parallels drawn between current events and what goes down on film, The Winter Soldier doesn't fail to impress on a more basic, entertainment driven visceral level either. We get all the action and explosions you could ask for, with incredibly visual effects. According to IMDb trivia, the filmmakers tried to make as many practical effects as possible, which definitely show when Captain is driving his bodies through walls and tossing aside soldiers like oversized papercraft. It's all blended seamlessly into the grander scale things, like the new, gigantic helicarriers.

I have many people telling me that The Winter Soldier stands as their favourite Marvel movie, and I would tend to lean in that direction as well. It has a beautiful mix of polished characters, conflict, humour, effects and continuity that I don't believe we've seen in cinemas before. What they are doing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is truly unique: they've perfected the formula but aren't skimping out on quality and giving care to every detail. While it may seem like we're getting too many movies, I would disagree: I look forward to the next installment every time.

Batman: Arkham City

It looks from my initial write-up of Arkham Asylum that I was quick to get the post out there, without talking about the game that much. And what else is there to say? I've recommended it to friends over the years without much description aside from the simple command: just play it. Because that’s what I did, and fell in love, so I figured others should do the same thing. And it seems they have enjoyed it, although not to the extent that I did (which was perhaps too much), but only in terms of wanting to stay in the Asylum to do as many challenges and to find ALL the Riddler's clues. Sometimes, the gaming stars align in such a way that you can do those things, and others, they simply pass by one another without much notice. Upon completion in Arkham City, I felt absolutely zero need to go around collecting all the Riddler's trophies and puzzles, and even less about doing all the challenges.

Perhaps a reason for the lack of interest in those extras was the other extras throughout the game, specifically: the side missions. There were quite a few of them, and I don’t recall these types of side missions in Asylum.  I didn't complete all of them though, as doing a few made me quickly realize there was a lot of work for not much return – I much preferred to stick to the main storyline. But here, the main storyline felt quite a bit shorter, no doubt pared down a bit in order to make room for all the extra missions found throughout the city. That’s not to say the story wasn't excellent, because it was really, very good. All the voice acting is spot on of course, and the game carries on that feel of the nineties Animated Series with a darker skew. And for a fan of those original cartoons (like myself) these games are the bees knees.

I also wanted to make a comment on the Catwoman content, which is extra from the main game, but is tightly integrated: after certain scenes playing as Batman, you’ll cut over to play as Catwoman on her own little mission against Two-Face and of course, you’ll interact with Batman throughout his story too. It fleshed out the game and added some depth to it, but what I ended up focusing on (aside from the character model herself) was how much differently she played than Batman. She is smaller, faster and not as tough, and it was an absolute dream to take control and beat up some bad guys using the same combat system (minus Batman’s gadgets).

The Catwoman content is actually DLC that comes with the game when you buy it new. This format of
incentive is increasing in popularity; as publishers try to prevent people from buying used games where they see no profit, they offer “incentives” like this. The practice is a turn off for many gamers, but it’s inevitable: if you buy the game used you can always buy the content for the regular DLC price, otherwise, buy the game new and just punch in the code. Personally, I want to wait for the game of the year edition which is going to be discounted and full of all the content. In any event, for Arkham City I would have really liked to see this practice removed and have the Catwoman content present right from the beginning, as I really do feel that it offers valued gameplay and story to the game.

If I had to lodge a complaint against the game it could be tied directly to one of the best aspects of it: the combat. Here it is: they give you a ton of gadgets, and in City you get many more that you can “quickfire” in combat. I want to use them all, all the time: you get more experience and higher scores, and it’s just straight up fun. The problem: I can’t remember all the button combinations. Yeah, most of the time I’m just mashing the attack button and doing counter attacks. Every so often I remember to use a gadget and it throws me completely off to a point in where I lose my combination and I have to see Batman getting punched in the back of the neck. He doesn't like that.

The final battle was good, and I didn't feel as frustrated there or anywhere else in the game like I did in Asylum. A bit of the magic that was present was lost here, probably because of the novelty of your first play through on becoming The Batman himself. I was scared initially when I read about City: thinking the play area was just going to be too big. It’s the opposite problem I anticipated with Asylum, but fear not: the city is an appropriate size as the core game remains essentially the same as you travel from one building to another, wherein all the main action takes place.  

So just in time as I write this little review, I see news of the next game in the series being announced. It’s a prequel that takes place when Batman was just getting started, which is always a classic time frame for him. It won’t be developed by Rocksteady, who helmed both of these games. It also won’t feature the writing talents of Paul Dini, and presumably none of the voice talent. It kind of spells doom and gloom, but we can remain hopeful: it will run the same “engine” so to speak, which means identical combat with new and different gadgets as well as fairly similar graphics. It’s going to hit this fall, which means I’ll probably end up playing it by the end of 2014. I look forward to it! 

Fan Expo 2012

A fear washed over me. My forehead broke into a cold sweat. I checked blind spots repeatedly, made verbalization that made no sense that would confuse linguists. Indeed, I had made a left turn into a streetcar lane, which quickly became elevated. The street below felt like miles. Partially, I was in awe: I was driving where no man had gone before, where only streetcars had traversed before. Then reality hit as I checked my rear view mirror and saw a car directly behind me. Probably another tourist, who had followed me onto this railed path of madness. I wasn't entirely sure what to do, although there were very few options. The car following took the lead and leaped off the track onto the civilian road below. The only option had presented itself. I yelled for Cale to hold on, that this was going to happen and it played out just as expected. We hit the road below, bottoming out the car and hearing awful noises from below. But we were safe now. I can only imagine what the locals were thinking, and the only thing to do now was to drive past the shame.

Cale has done a good job of writing up the car incident, as well as the day we attended Fan Expo in 2011. He's right - although he throws in some fiction (I'll leave the what up to you to decide) - that I was flustered throughout the day. Something was off, but I couldn't quite pin what it was. Perhaps it was the crowds. 2012's Fan Expo this past weekend was no different. You have to fight your way through aisles of people to get anywhere; if you stand still for any period of time you were going to be knocked about and lost. And perhaps it was the mass consumerism that was taking place. In years gone by the crowds were less and the items more unique. Now, in today's market, you can find anything online and cheaper than anywhere on the show floor. All the colourful and unique merchandise fails to impress as its mass-produced and high availability reminds me of being in a supersized warehouse store of geek items that flashed the horror of going to Wal-Mart during the weekend across my face. The smell of many of the patrons certainly doesn't help the nauseating experience.

The show is changing; Cale and I have been going for quite a while now and quite frankly, it's becoming a big deal. They didn't used to have a lot of support from major companies, but now it's not uncommon to see a massive, official, DC Comics footprint and media extravaganzas for movies, television shows and video games. At this year's Expo, there was a gigantic Halo 4 area and major representation from Ubisoft. We saw the Wii U in play (and was floored by how big that controller was). The artist alley has shrunk, as has the celebrity signing area. All your favourite vendors are there peddling their goods, and even that becomes tired. Year after year they bring the same things, and the discounts do not run nearly as deep. Indeed, most can only offer "US cover price" which is not a deal at all. I can imagine the cost for them to be there is increasing, and less people would be buying as they spend more time at celebrity Q&A sessions, movie premieres and costume parties. Physically, space wise, the Fan Expo needs more. That could help the experience of browsing the floor that much better, I think.

Last year I bought a few comics (the Knightfall series) and practically had to force myself to make it happen. 2011 was the year that Fan Expo broke me, but 2012 I was better prepared. Actually I wasn't, in some respect. I wanted to go in with a list of comics to get - because there are still deals for comics - but just couldn't get around to it. I wanted to work towards a collection (for instance Amazing Spider-Man #300 to #400) but just didn't prepare myself beforehand. Having the list in the cloud on my Google Drive didn't help as we could barely get a cell signal - too many in a small area, I suppose. So it's my own fault, really. But this year I was mentally prepared for that, although the crowds still wore me down very quickly. I wanted more comic book vendors, but instead we got bombarded with large, corporate driven displays. I imagine "the" Comic-Con is very similar to this, where major things are being announced for Hollywood, and the day of the individual comic book draws near.

So I bought one thing: V for Vendetta (collected trade paperback of course) for less than anywhere I've seen before. I got excited, and am excited to read it, as it's been on "the list" for quite some time. But that's it, and I'm completely satisfied. Next year, perhaps, I will be better prepared and be able to pick up some comics to flesh out my collection. I'm sure you're thinking that I'm insane, as I've pretty much been slamming this event and just doing an about-face now to say I enjoyed it, but it's true. Last year I was caught off guard and was flustered, but this year I enjoyed taking in the madness. There was lots to see and experience, and the event has transcended the actual Expo itself. It's about the time before and after, the drive, the conversation and the time spent with a good friend. Where once it was just a day trip, it has turned into a weekend event (Cale and I no longer live in the same city).

This is annual pilgrimage that I've always been after; the tradition was not forced, it just happened. And I look forward to it every time.

Punisher: War Zone

Sometimes it's easier to write about things you hate, than those you love. This is a movie that I wanted to love - well, perhaps love is to strong a word. I have yet to see The Punisher from the '80s, but will soon enough I'm sure, and I was disappointed by The Punisher from earlier this decade (starring Thomas Jane). He's an interesting character to bring to the screen: by all accounts he's a ruthless killer, but they just fail to properly adapt him to the big screen. Perhaps there is a problem with the comics: I've never really read them before, and I really have to question how he fits into a world dominated by the Comics Code Authority. So maybe that's why these adaptations fail: they just have poor source material.

This can't be an excuse for what I witnessed recently though. You've got a host of bad acting, and suprisingly comical gore scenes. It's like the previous wasn't violent enough that they had to step it up, but just ended up making it silly. I don't have much of a problem with Ray Stevenson, but something horribly awry happened with Dominic West's Jigsaw character. This guy was great in The Wire but fails here; perhaps he just had no direction. At one point in the film he's walking down the street waving his arms wildly, just as I would do when I was in grade four and trying to embarrass my sister. To quote my friend: it was "zany." The scenes, and how they come together are questionable: we have a shootout in a house that ends awkwardly, incredibly odd characters that don't seem to fit, and very questionable motivations. The Punisher himself is clear cut: he's out for revenge and is actually nearly done, but he doesn't express any kind of satisfaction; this guy is severely disgruntled and I'm removed from the immersion of the film as I wonder how he passes slow days by himself in his Ninja Turtles-style lair.

I guess, to some degree this movie was becoming so terrible it was funny. When The Punisher punches a thug in the face, he not only knocks him out, he caves in his entire skull. Come on. I laughed a bit when that happened, but I think half the laugh was devoted to sadness. And I really question Julie Benz: you grew to hate her in Dexter (perhaps annoyed is the better term), and this film didn't help her case. Let's not get started on Martin Soap! Was this guy in the comics? Was he so terribly goofy? It is time to stop bringing The Punisher to the big screen.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

This game came out of nowhere, at least on my radar. How many Batman games have there been, that have just been complete trash? Really, you could say the same thing for any comic-based game. In the early nineties, I was heavily into comics; I was also heavily into video games. So combine the two and you have greatness, right? I must admit that the SNES (and to a lesser degree the Genesis, incompetent as it was) was chock full of side-scrolling super hero romps. Unfortunately I thought they were all mediocre at the time and really didn't get into them.

Indeed, the big X-Men arcade game that supported a plethora of multiplayer goodness was so good that I actually brought $10 worth of quarters from the bank to the mall to play all day. That dream was crushed, but I did have a bucket load of quarters. The same excitement could not be reproduced on the home systems. I tried Spider-Man games, Wolverine, X-Men, etc and they were just a big collective meh.

So superhero games were ignored, rightfully so, through the 32 and 64-bit years, until Batman: Vengeance came out for the Cube. Why did this game get me excited to the point where I actually paid money? One thing: cape physics. Really. I'm not kidding; perhaps I was a bit dull, or the urge to play as Batman after so many years of pitiful games got a hold of me. We can't be certain except that I only played for a short time: this game was wretched. 

So back into the abyss of superhero games, and I was fine with that. Then people start talking (and by people I guess we refer to the internet) about this new Batman game, but as the internet goes as an often unreliable hype machine, I pay no heed. I don't even understand what type of game it's going to be: I don't care. But then it starts hitting me, and I download the demo. I refuse to play it. It's childish, but I wasn't about to be disappointed.

Then Cale, bless him, starts ranting about this game, describing it in its detail and I must play it. I still don't understand how the game plays: I hear murmurs that you slowly walk through the Asylum and just dispose of guys. What? Arkham is not big enough to do that for an entire games-length. Well, I could describe my confusion on how the game mechanics would be, but then I played the damn thing and I was sold in a heartbeat. We played for hours, and it was so detailed, so in-depth, so gripping, I didn't want to stop.

He let me borrow the game then my life was game over: every night for hours, until I conquered this game. I threw the controller in rage, I sat on the edge of my seat, I cowered during the Scarecrow's mind bending nightmares. After finishing the game, and with exhausted breathing I watched the credits roll, I knew, this was the superhero game I had waited for. 

I Am Iron Man

It's been a long time in the making (or has it?) and it's finally upon us: Iron Man, the movie. Now this could all be fabrication, but I swear this movie was announced back in 2002 and has switched hands so many times in terms of direction and star power, that we all blew it off as something that's just not going to happen, and really, why would we want it to happen?

I recall because I traded this movies stocks on the Hollywood Stock Exchange, a fun little site that allowed you to trade fictitious shares of movie stars and movies. When a movie was announced, you could grab the IPO and sell it a few days later. I was eager to pick up as many super hero movies as was available, which were quite plentiful in those days.

The big news and the motivation to get excited about this movie was that it's Marvel's first true film, in that they are the sole studio behind it's development. They've partnered with Paramount for distribution, but as Nathan puts it: this is Marvel without any outside interference. And they did not go wrong.

I could spend some time talking about the movie and how good it was, but the bottom line is you just need to go out and see it. I very much appreciate how they've catered to both comic book fans and everybody else. Indeed, I kind of felt like I was in the latter grouping as I know practically nothing about Iron Man, as he and his kind (re: The Avengers) were part of that other corner of the Marvel universe I never bothered with. So you're not going to feel lost, and I'm sure they threw in enough to satisfy the craving of the average comic book geek. The only negative of this movie that could have made me much angrier if the movie itself was no good, was the showing. Galaxy just can't handle it: the movie was out of focus and noticeably so throughout. It became distracting in numerous scenes but was bearable, considering the content. I'm excited to either see it again (and hope it's in focus) or view it at home in high definition later this year, in sharp glory.

So why could I not get excited about this movie before it's release? X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil. These were all movies, among others, that I felt a genuine excitement for from the time of ticket purchase to leaving the theatre after viewing. Not so much with Iron Man. And really, there's no reason for it because it stands among the best comic book movies out there.

Perhaps it's because we've been burned so many times with these movies you can't trust the pre-release hype. Perhaps I'm just getting older, or there are more exciting things going on in life now. In any event, it was a good feeling (not an excited feeling) of purchasing the tickets days in advance for a preview screening (just a night before release, really) and then showing up entirely way too early to stand in line with nobody else there. And that's what it's all about: the movie experience.

Cyborg Batman's Melting Face

Why is it that cyborgs, when they lose their fleshy exteriors (even just partly) begin to move like robots? You've seen it before, in the Terminator movies, of course. Arnold moves like a human, right up until there's no Arnold left, and he's just the cold exoskeleton with those beady red eyes. But honestly, that's a bad example, because the cyborg can't move like a human due to limitations in technology (at least with the original).

I was watching a thrilling episode of Batman: The Animated series the other day where Batman's "soul" was essentially placed into a cyborg body that looked and acted the exact same as Batman himself. You couldn't tell the difference between the two, and indeed, when they fought each other there was little to give one away as the imposter. But all this stopped when the cyborg Batman had the honour of half his faced melting off due to some kind of acid being thrown on him. Half his face was of Batman, the other half: steel. And of course that little red eye.

As soon as this happened, his movements became much more robot like: stiff, methodical, "in-organic," if you will. And to add insult to injury, I believe you could even hear his gears going, as if all the sound-dampening was coming from his face. Perhaps there was no need to hide his true robotic nature: the gig was up.