Electric Superman

Superman was having a hard time in the 1990's. He died, he came back with a mullet, he got married. It seems like DC did just about everything that they could to keep the man of steel relevant at the time and for the most part it didn't work. The biggest shock (no pun intended) though came when DC decided to strip away everything Superman was known for and pretty much start him over fresh. Naturally I'm talking about when he went electric.

 

 Now right away we all knew this was destined to fail. Superman can't be electric, hes The Man Of Steel for crying out loud. Still though I guess you can't blame them for trying something right?

So for those of you who don't know DC abandoned Superman's old powers and look and gave him a bunch of new powers and a fresh coat of paint. With these new powers he could open portals to other dimensions, divide his consciousness into separate entities, absorb and translate energies from any form into any other, merge with computer and other electronic and electrical systems, control the forces of magnetism, and create a solid energy field, manipulate electrons, become invisible or intangible and teleport and finally visually detect the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Well they took away a shit ton of powers but they replaced them with a shit ton of new ones! On top of that he was no longer weak against kryptonite. There was a trade off though, now whenever Superman was Clark Kent he was just a regular powerless human.
 
The sales started off strong, of course they did this was Superman and it was something radically different, people had to check it out. Naturally however this couldn't last forever and before long Superman fans were calling for the man of electricity to go away and the man of steel to return and when the sales started to reflect this then the time came for a return to tradition. A storyline was cooked up were Toyman split Superman into two distinct Supermen, the blue superman that had been around since the change and a red one.

 Both had the same powers but had slightly different personalities. I don't know a whole lot more on it but by the end both Blue and Red Supermen merged back together to bring back the traditional Superman of old, well if you consider the mullet traditional anyways, and they have never looked back since.

 Here's the thing. I actually liked the electric Superman. Sure it couldn't last nor would I of wanted it to but I think that DC shouldn't of wasted so much time and energy on this new Superman, what they could of had out of this was a fantastic new character. I don't care what anyone says that costume was awesome, all they had to do was remove that "S" shield and there you go all new character with an amazing set of powers. He could of been big instead it was just used as another attempt to make people care about Superman in the 1990's.

Smackin' It Raw: The Top Ten Stories Of WWE

I don't know if any of you realized it or not but on last Saturday May 5^th The WWE celebrated its 10th anniversary under that name. As we all know it had previously been WWF. I decided to sit back and think about the last ten years of the last ten years and here is what I came up with in my opinion.

#10 Muhammad Hassan's Terrorist Attack Against The Undertaker:

Unfortunately not all of these stories will be good ones and the first story is one of those less then bright spots. WWE has had a long history of villains that are very anti-American, look no further then Ivan Koloff, Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Shiek and even Sgt. Slaughter during The Gulf War. It should of come to no ones surprise that after the September 11^th attacks that before to long there would be an Afghan sympathizer. Enter Muhammad Hassan. This time WWE threw a very interesting twist on the old character though and made him American born and raised but after the September 11^th attacks he was persecuted by his fellow American just because of his Arab background. It was an interesting twist that could of given him a great run if done properly but unfortunately WWE couldn't help themselves and just went to far with it. On the July 7^th broadcast of Smackdown! which had been taped a couple of days earlier Hassan had sent a bunch of masked men to attack The Undertaker even going as far as to choke The Undertaker with a metal wire. The even more unfortunate thing about that was the date. July 7^th 2002. For those of you who don't know that was the day that there were terrorist bombings on the trains and buses of London. There was no time to edit the segment or even remove it in time so to the horror of everyone on the same day of these terrorist attacks WWE Smackdown! Also featured a segment that included a terrorist attack. The backlash was instant. Muhammad Hassan was taken off of TV with UPN stating that they would never allow the character to be seen on their network again. Two weeks later at the Great American Bash PPV The Undertaker defeated Hassan by power bombing him through the stage and he was never seen again.

#9 The Death Of Eddie Guerrero:

Much like the first story the second one is also a sad one. Eddie Guerrero was no stranger to alcohol and drug abuse but in one of the best feel great stories in not only company but wrestling history Guerrero did what so many other wrestlers failed to do and defeated his demons. He was living and a clean life and enjoying everything that he hard worked his entire career to achieve. He was arguably the most popular wrestler on the roster and finally getting his recognized as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and on February 15^th of 2004 finally won the ultimate prize of the WWE championship from Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately the damage that years of alcohol and drug abuse finally caught up with him and he died in his hotel on November 13^th 2005, leaving a legacy and “Eddie” chants that can still be heard to this day.

#8 CM Punk's Shoot Promo:

Finally a good story! Not only is this a good story but it is also the most recent story on the list. Despite a couple of Money In The Bank and WWE title wins CM Punk for the most part was being misused and he had had enough. With his contract set to expire last summer CM Punk did the unimaginable. After getting a WWE title shot against John Cena, Punk told the world that his contract was set to expire at The Money In The Bank PPV in which Cena would be defending his title against Punk and that he was not going to renew it. He would win the championship and walk out on WWE with it. As if that were not interesting enough the next week at the end of Raw Punk did something that was even more unimaginable. After his match he walked up the ramp and gave what would become known as “The promo” in which he aired all of his grievances with the company, many of which were shared by the fans themselves. It should of made Punk a huge villain going into the PPV against Cena but something funny happened. Every fan agreed with him. Overnight he went from being reviled to becoming the voice of the voiceless and made WWE more interesting then it had been in years. At The Money In The Bank PPV Punk and Cena wrestled win what would become match of the year which ended with Punk winning the title and as promised leaving WWE with it. Sure he showed up again two weeks later but that promo skyrocketed Punk to the main event of WWE. He wasn't see as a guy who was almost there anymore, he was a guy who was there and started to be treated as such.

#7 The Return And Demise Of ECW:

Nearly five years after closing its doors anytime something amazing happened in WWE, epically something including a weapon or a hardcore maneuver the chants of “ECW, ECW, ECW!” would always fill WWE arenas everywhere so on June 12^th 2005 at the One Night Stand PPV WWE gave the fans what they wanted, a one time reunion show of all of their ECW favorites back in the ring for one last ECW show to give the company the resolution that it deserved. Or at least that was the intention. With the strong sales of The Rise and Fall of ECW DVD along with the very impressive buyrate of the PPV WWE decided to do it again one year later and not only would they do another One Night Stand PPV they would also bring ECW back as a third brand in WWE to air on Sci-Fi that would be a true companion to both Raw and Smackdown! Not long after the return of the weekly ECW show however it became quite apparent that it was a very watered down version of the company that we all loved. After only a few months the third brand became a joke with terrible ratings that had the fans begging for the end of ECW once and for all. On Febuary 16^th 2010 WWE aired its final episode of ECW TV to make way for the next show that had great promise at the start only to fall even further then ECW ever did, that show being NXT which can still be enjoyed, or not, to this day.

#6 The Undertaker's Streak:

In 2002 The Undertakers Wrestlemania winning streak was a solid 10-0 after defeating Ric Flair. It was a very impressive accomplishment that had never been reached before to be sure but I think even at that point neither WWE or The Undertaker knew just how big The Streak would become. To be honest it wasn't until Wrestlemania XX the year The Undertaker went 12-0 after defeating Kane a second time that it would really hit its stride. That was the year The Undertaker had returned as The Dead Man after a couple of years as The American Badass. Still it would be another year before the streak would become the focal point of a feud going into Wrestlemania. For years it had been there and was a big deal but never had it been involved to the point it was at Wrestlemania 21. That was the year that The Undertaker faced off against a young Randy Orton, at that time The Legend Killer. Orton was poised more then anyone before him to end the streak and he had no problems saying that he would do so. Naturally Orton lost. The next three years were a wash for the streak storyline again with The Undertaker going up against Mark Henry in a casket match which was used for no other reason then to pad the stats of the streak since they wanted it to grow and had nothing else for The Undertaker that year. The next two years The Undertaker faced off against Batista and Edge respectively but those years despite the streak being on the line everything was more so built around the fact that they were both title matches. Then the next year at Wrestlemania XXV the streak became more important than any title that could be on the line when The Undertaker took on Shawn Michaels who vowed to end the streak. He failed but their match became an all time classic. The next year Michaels attempted to do it again this time with his own career on the line, once again he failed and went into retirement. At the next two Wrestlmanias Triple H took up the cause of trying to end the streak only to fail both times himself. At this point there is no need for a title to be on the line The Undertakers Wrestlemania winning streak is one of the biggest matches on the card and will most likely remain so for as long as The Undertaker wants to continue wrestling.

#5 WWE Goes PG:

During the late '90s and into the late '00s WWE had been TV14 but in July of 2008 to please its sponsors and to reach out to the younger demographic the WWE return to being PG for the first time since The Attitude Era. It is a move that has had long time fans who remember the days of The Attitude Era complaining ever since. Despite that and the fact that the ratings doesn't seem to reflect it the move back to PG has been a rousing success for the company who have expanded all of their division significantly and continues to do so.

#4 The Brand Extension:

Ok in all fairness the brand split happened a mere ten before WWF became WWE but aside from that ten days it was all as the company was WWE. It doesn't mean a whole lot these days with Raw Supershow and the Smackdown superstars appearing on both shows but when the brand split happened there was none of that. The only wrestlers that crossed over to the other shows were The Undisputed Champion and the Women's Champion. By six months in even that went out the window with both brands being completely separate from another and both having their own world champion. The only interaction between the two brands would be during the PPVs and after a while even the PPVs became separate with both Raw exclusive and Smackdown! exclusive PPVs. The most surprising thing about the brand split was the fact that after a while the shows even gained viewer loyalty with some fans only watching Raw and others only watching Smackdown! These days the brand split is still in effect but just barely. Its pretty much run its course with Smackdown! wrestlers appearing on Raw every week and Raw stars able to appear on Smackdown! every week if so desired. Its only a matter of time before it is done with altogether.

#3 WWE's Wellness Policy:

If there was ever a silver lining to come from the death of Eddie Guerrero it was WWE's Wellness Policy. With pressure mounting WWE put its own drug testing into effect meaning it would supposedly be the end of drug use in the WWE. At first it seemed very secretive on what would cause a violation of the policy but what was known was that if you fail one test your suspended for 30 days and second failure would result in a 60 day suspension and a third failure would result in getting fired. Its a lot more clear what its about these days and many wrestlers have been suspended over the years. It has for the most part been a great success though with many wrestlers being forced to live a cleaner lifestyle that will hopefully result in them living much longer then the generation of wrestlers that came before them. One of the greatest success stories of the policy came from MVP, Montel Vontavious Porter however who after doing the test discovered that he had Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a rare and potentially life threatening condition that causes the heart to beat faster then normal. Also under the Wellness Policy WWE has reached out to any former superstar that used to work for them to get treatment paid for in full by WWE to get cleaned up and turn their life around.

#2 The Rise Of John Cena:

Like him or not in the time of WWE John Cena has become the face of the company he is to WWE today what Steve Austin was in the 1990's and Hulk Hogan was in the 1980's. I don't have much more to say about this story on the list then that but I don't think anyone could doubt what Cena has meant to WWE and pretty much everything WWE related in the last ten years.

#1 The Chris Benoit Double Murder Suicide:

I really didn't want to end on a downer story on this list but lets face it there was nothing that effected WWE more in the last ten years then the tragic double murder/suicide that happened to Chris Benoit's family at his own hands. Benout was without a doubt one of the most respected wrestlers in the history of business that managed to climb to the top of the business after years of being told he couldn't. Then on the weekend of June 22^nd to June 25^th Chris Benoit flushed his legacy down the toilet for the legacy of a man who would murder his wife and seven-year-old son then kill himself. Benoit did more for WWE and the wrestling business more in that one weekend then he ever did in in the middle of the ring and tragically it was something that resulted in a black eye for the business and much more tragically the death of his wife and son.

Other Newsworthy items:

The Big Returns:

Wrestling fans have a great memory and what better way to exploit that then by bringing back as many top stars as possible. Sure this isn't a distint thing that has only occurred in the last 10 years so I didn't include it there. I just think its fun to throw out a few of the names that came back during this time that some thought we may never see in a WWE ring again, most notable Bret The Hitman Hart, The Rock and most recently Brock Lesnar.

The Big Exits:

Its not all about big returns though as some pretty noteworthy names have also said goodbye since WWE got the “F” out, weather all of these remain permanent is anyones guess but those names include, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Edge and Kurt Angle. Yes Angle quickly made his way to TNA but it was during this time he left WWE.

WWE's Continued Charity Work:

I love how WWE is always getting bashed in the mainstream media whenever something bad happens but they are never praised for all the good that they do unless its just a small blurb somewhere. Their annual Tribute To The Troops show is a great example of how WWE reaches out to all of those that put their lives on the line so the rest of us can have a free world, I realize I'm Canadian but we have troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan as well so it hits home for me as well. Also lets not forget about all the good for they do for Make A Wish. WWE might grant more wishes for Make A Wish then anyone else in history but this is something that seems to be glossed over, as far as I'm concerned there is nothing better then granting the wish of a sick child and they should be praised for this much more then they are.

The Rise And Fall of The Women's Division:

There isn't a whole lot that could be said about this one. At the start of this period the Womens Division was better then it had ever been in the companies history, now ten years later its at an all time low. A real shame.

WWE Studios:

WWE got in the movie business during this time and after some initial, very limited, success in theaters they have since made all of these projects direct to DVD.

Also just for fun I thought I would make a list of the Champions in WWE at the time of the name change:

WWF Undisputed Champion: Hulk Hogan. Its pretty fitting in my opinion that the final person to be called The WWF Champion was Hulk Hogan, there is just something right about that. These days Hogan is in TNA trying to but ultimately doing nothing to improve that product.

WWF Intercontinental Champion: Eddie Guerrero.

WWF World Tag Team Champion: Billy & Chuck

WWF Crusierweight Champion: The Hurricane

WWF Women's Champion: Jazz

WWF European Champion: Spike Dudley

WWF Hardcore Champion: Steven Richards (Who was in the middle of a huge two day title reign!)

And that's all I got for you. So that was the biggest news in the last ten years in WWE (In my opinion) and here's to the next ten.

Smackin' It Raw!: Wrestlemania XXVIII

Well its been another year and we got another Wrestlemania in the books. So what are my thoughts? Well lets just dive right in and find out.

World Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match (Pre-Show):
Primo & Epico defeats Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel & The Usos

Never saw it. Although I would of liked The Usos to get the win I don't really mind that Primo & Epico won though I'm all for long title runs as I feel it help give a title more prestige and credibility and lets face it the Tag titles need that more then any other title in WWE save for the Divas title.

World Title Match:
Sheamus defeats Daniel Bryan

This was easily the biggest let down of the night. We just as well say that Bryan vs. Sheamus has been bumped off the card for the second year in a row. Although I rooted for Bryan I didn't mind that Sheamus won and figured as much that it would happen the only thing that pissed me off is that we were robbed of what could of been a potential show stealer.

Singles Match:
Kane defeats Randy Orton

The first match was a surprise because of how short it was this match was a surprise because of Kane getting the upset victory. I like Kane much more then Orton so I was very happy to see him get the win. As for the match itself it was damn boring and couldn't end quick enough.

Intercontinental Title Match:
The Big Show defeats Cody Rhodes

Three matches in and the stink of disappointment is in the air at this years Wrestlemania yet again with this match. Cody Rhodes is awesome in every way and it really sucks that he dropped the title to The Big Show here. Cody was great in the match and Show was his usual self which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The match was pretty much as good as I thought it would be but the ending was a big disappointment.

Tag Team Match:
Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos defeats Beth Phoenix and Eve

Once again we get another throwaway divas match just because we need a divas match. It was no more or less offensive then any other one out there aside from the awkward finish. For the most part I'm no fan of celebrities coming in at Wrestlemania and getting the spotlight and here is no different but I will say that at least Menounos seems to be an actual fan of WWE and gave it her all bad ribs or not I can't help but respect that. That said though I would of rather this be singles match for the Divas title with Beth defending against a worthy opponent such as Kharma and if shes not ready to come back there is nothing wrong with Natalya taking that spot, at least then we could of had a good match.

Hell In A Cell Match:
The Undertaker defeats Triple H with special guest referee Shawn Michaels

It took our fifth match but finally we got one that was great. There was a fantastic story told in this match between the three men who have stolen the show at the last three Wrestlemanias and here in this match we finally got the ending that pulled on the heartstrings and had everyone at the end of their seat. The image of all three men standing together on stage after the match is what wrestling is all about. Oh yeah and The Undertaker going 20-0 is also great but we all knew that was going to happen anyways.

Twelve Man Tag Team Match:
Team Johnny defeats Team Teddy:

Despite there being no way that this match could of followed the one before it we still got a pretty decent clusterfuck of a match that allowed everyone who should of been on the card to get there and have a Wrestlemania pay day. Team Johnny winning was the only outcome that I wanted to see here despite what anyone says I love John Laurinaitis the guy is a goofball but it works in his favor very well. The only thing I never understood about this match is how could Laurinaitis, a man who was only interim general manager of Raw, a title that plainly states that he is only the general manager until they can find a suitable replacement, go from that to GM of both shows or even be qualified for it? Ah well I guess we all know that wrestling logic doesn't need to make any sense.

WWE Title Match:
CM Punk defeats Chris Jericho

This match lived up to all the hype around it and more. Easily the best technical match on the card. I really have nothing more to add to it then the fact that both of these guys went out there and showed why they are indeed the best in the world.

Brodus Clay Segment:

After all of this we get Brodus Clay come out with his Momma and her bingo club eating up and wasting time that should of belonged to the Daniel Bryan and Sheamus match. WWE really needs to get the ball rolling on The Funkasaurs again. He was great at first but all he does is wrestle one meaningless squash match after another and they have made me not care about him really quick. This only made that feeling grow.

Machine Gun Kelly & Flo Rida sing John Cena and The Rock to the ring but not really:

Ok now I'm pissed off. Fist that stupid Brodus Clay segment went on over five minutes now we get ten minutes of singing from these bums. Stuff like this at Wrestlemania always pisses me off epically when it was time that could of went to Bryan and Sheamus. Instead we get Machine Gun Kelly and his group who all desperately need to eat a Big Mac so they don't look like they are sick and dying sing a stupid song followed by Cena coming to the ring and they we get Flo "its not Florida" Rida eating up another load of time singing his stupid song before The Rock comes to the ring. I thought these people were supposed to sing Cena and The Rock to the ring? What happened there? They just sang their own crap songs and then Cena and Rock came out to their usual entrance themes. I am so pissed off about the Bryan Sheamus match going 18 seconds at this point.

Singles Match:
The Rock defeats John Cena

After twenty wasted minutes that could of went to Daniel Bryan and Sheamus we finally get that match that has been built and hyped up for an entire year. What can I say after that much hype and build up there was no way that the match could of lived up to its HUGE expectations. Don't get me wrong it was a good match, but it wasn't great which is watch this match should of been. As far as I'm concerned this will go down as a epic feud with a good match to top it off. Not a great one. Shame. The biggest suprise that that The Rock won the match. Sure I like The Rock more then Cena but this just seemed like a stupid move to me. Why let the guy who is there day in and day out for your company do the job when it would of benefited him so much more to get the win. As far as I'm concerned this match was a must win for Cena. The Rock didn't need this win since he'll be back in Hollywood again in no time.


Overall Wrestlemania was worth the price of admision alone for The Undertaker vs. Triple H match which was the show stealer again this year with Punk and Jericho following very closely behind. Its hard to even compare those two since they are two completely different types of match. As I said Rock vs. Cena was good but not great like it needed to be and in my opinion the wrong man won. The rest of the card was about what could be expected aside from the Daniel Bryan and Sheamus match which is something I will always hate.

Top Ten Marvel Heroes I Would Love To See Pixar Tackle

Since Disney acquired the rights to Marvel Comics and became its parent company people have been clamoring for Disney and more specifically Pixar to do their take on some of Marvel's characters. Naturally I'm no different, here are the top ten Marvel movies I would love to see Pixar tackle in alphabetical order.

Ant Man & Wasp:


I'm not quite sure how we got there but the name that has been thrown around the most for a Marvel Pixar movie has been Ant Man. Really I can't disagree with that decision, Ant Man is a great character and has never seemed to get his due but I say why not up the ante a little and make it an Ant Man & Wasp movie. These two characters go hand and hand together, their peanut butter and jelly. On top of all of that as a romantic couple these two are one of the best in all of comics history but seems to get no attention sure they are not as popular as other Marvel couples like Spider-Man and Mary Jane or Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman but they should be. The thought of Pixar making this movie would be amazing they have had experience with creating a world with the point of view of the very small with A Bugs Life and with the advances in technology that has been made in their animation since then this one would be awesome.



Cloak & Dagger:


Cloak and Dagger are the story of a couple of teen runaways who gained their powers when they were injected with a new synthetic heroin (though it was revealed years later that both were mutants and the injections had simply awakened their latent mutant abilities) Cloak becomes engulfed by darkness while Dagger is engulfed in light. After gaining their powers they decided to take up a war on drugs and to help other runaway teens. Cloak and Dagger might be quite a bit darker then what Pixar is accustomed to doing but they have shown in the past that they can do dark all we have to do is think back to the trash incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 for proof. The dark and light themes could make for some amazing visuals and it would be great to see Pixar going outside of their comfort zone and doing something that is rated a little higher than G though that has never hindered them in the past.


Doctor Strange:

Pixar has been known for its far out there ideas and when it comes to comics there is no character more out there in concept then Doctor Strange. To me Doctor Strange is a perfect fit for Pixar. Just thinking about all of the great visuals that we could get from Doctor Strange being a master of magic and the mystic arts has me salivating. On top of this despite being one of the more popular characters in Marvel Doctor Strange has never gotten a big break in the world of film. All he has has is a terrible 1970's made for TV movie, a couple episodes of the 1990's Spider-Man and a direct to DVD animated movie in 2007. Out of everyone on this list however Doctor Strange seems like one of the most likely to get a live action treatment some time in the future.



Hercules:


Hercules might be the toughest sell on this list for no other reason then the fact that Disney did their own animated version of Hercules in 1997 so Pixar may very well be hesitant to do another animated version with Marvels version of the character. Still that being said Marvel's Hercules is quite different from Disney's Hercules and I think there are room for the both of them. Marvel's version of the character has always been a fan favorite but has always been a C lister at best but in the last few years has gained a lot more steam and has made it to the B list at the very least. To see Marvel's incredibly jolly but extremely bad ass when he has to be in a Pixar movie would be great.


Heroes For Hire:

Luke Cage and Iron Fist are two characters that seem to of been around forever but have both really picked up steam in the last ten years or so, Luke Cage epically. That said when most people think of these characters they think of the '70s and that's just where I would love to see a movie with these two take place. Another fun thing about this movie is the differences between Iron Fist and Luke Cage. Iron Fist is the finesse man with all the skills and a principals from the eastern world while Luke Cage is the power house street tough from with the street smarts from New York. These two would be clashing personalities would be as great on screen as they have been in comics for decades. Pixar could have some real fun putting that decade on screen with two heroes who would start off doing the job just for the money, they ARE The Heroes for Hire after all and then as the movie goes on it becomes less about the cash and more about doing the right thing, a motto both have come to go by these days.



The Inhumans:

The Inhumans are one of the more unrated teams in comics. You take a dash of X-Men and mix it with The Fantastic Four and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The X-Men portion comes because when a inhuman comes of age they go into The Terrigen Mist, which is a natural mutagen that alters the biology of an Inhuman giving them special powers. The Fantastic Four part comes into play with The Inhuman royal family headed by their king Blackbolt, a character who cannot speak because even the quietest whisper from him could level a mountain. Pixar has proven they can deal with a lack of talking through WALL-E but they won't really have to worry about it here as Blackbolt is the only one who can't speak unless absolutely necessary, Pixar could really pull at the emotional strings here on that one letting him speak at the right moment for massive destruction. Other Inhumans include their queen Madusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, Maximus and of course Lockjaw. Like The X-Men and Fantastic Four all of these characters have their own unique powers and abilities that could make for some amazing visuals and action scenes and hey if Pixar doesn't want to give us a new Incredibles movie then why not The Inhumans?





Namor: The Sub Mariner:



Much like Aquaman, Namor gets a bad rap and I can't think of any real reason for it. Is it because Aquaman gets a lot of shit and Namor is the Marvel equivalent to him. All that said Namor is a complete bad ass and always has been, he is one of the original anti-heroes who just so happened to be one before a anti-hero was even a thing. Back in the 1930's and 1940's Namor teamed up with Captain America and fought the Nazi's, in the 1960's he was a asshole who was a thorn in the side of Mr. Fantastic all while trying to steal The Invisible Woman away from him. All the while and since then Namor has been the arrogant king of Atlantis. Pixar has experience with going underwater with Finding Nemo but that was nearly a decade ago now and their technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Add to that the amazing scenery and backgrounds that you could get from Atlantis and you got one of the most beautiful movies that Pixar has ever done.



Rocket Racoon:

Now here is a character that seems custom made for Pixar or Disney. Rocket Raccoon is a Raccoon (obviously) who flies about as the guardian of The Keystone Quadrant, a area of outer space that is sealed off from the rest of the space in a spaceship with his first mate Wal Russ who is (SHOCK) a walrus. Its not all cute and fuzzy though as Rocket Raccoon is a master military tactician how seems to also have a serious case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. All of these other characters on this list might make for a great Pixar movie but Rocket Raccoon is a character that would be a perfect fit for Pixar. The fact that Rocket Raccoon is also a pretty obscure character most people wouldn't even second guess as anything but another original Pixar creation.




Rom: Spaceknight:

I guess if Pixar doesn't want to go to outer space with Rocket Raccoon then they could go to outer space with another pretty obscure Marvel space character with Rom: Spaceknight. The big difference between the two is obviously one is a raccoon and the other is a robot. Unlike most characters on this list I know next to nothing about Rom aside the fact that hes a space robot who's comic was only created to help promote a toy, much like many TV shows in the 1980's, and although the toy died a death pretty quick the comic went on to a pretty decent following that helped the comic last an impressive 75 issues. What I do know about it is that Rom is a spaceknight who battles a evil aliens race called The Dire Wraiths who employ the use of dark magic and can shape shift. Although that's all I know about Rom I know that Pixar can make a hell of a movie out of this.

The Runaways:


Every kid thinks that their parents are evil, but what if they really were? That's the plot behind The Runaways. There is sooooo much more to The Runaways then that though. Not only do these kids discover their parents are evil super villains they find out that through that they themselves have special powers. One is a witch, another is a alien, another a mutant another is the daughter to time travelers and gets a pet dinosaur that she has a telepathic link with and so forth. While running they discover that they are not all as different from each other that they had originally thought and all come together for a final showdown with their parents. Pixar are no strangers to the amount of character development that this movie would require and unlike most superhero movies this one has a different angle that you know they could nail.

Comic Strips

A couple of years ago I entered a contest at a local free newspaper that well, had a contest to have your comic strip in their paper. This was my contribution, I already forgot what it was called but it was about two crappy super heroes who spend their days failing to fight crime and nights at the local watering hole. Here are the five that I submitted.

Senebti Moon Knight

Well that sure didn't take long. Looks like once again Moon Knight is getting the ax. That's right after issue #12 hits the shelves Marvel is going to cancel Moon Knight once again. For those of you keeping count this will be the third Moon Knight comic that has been canceled since 2006 with each series Moon Knight vol. 4, Vengeance of Moon Knight and Moon Knight Vol. 5 ending with a total of 30, 10 and 12 issues respectively.

I guess when you add it all together a 52 issue run isn't all bad but still it isn't a single 52 issue run, its three different runs. Each one of which in my humble opinion has been better then the last. Who knows maybe we will be lucky and Marvel will announce yet another Moon Knight series before 2012 comes to an end. It certainly wouldn't surprise me since Marvel loves their reboots. More #1's do mean more money I suppose. Still weather they bring Moon Knight back for another series remains to be seen though since the current one still has a few issues to go.

Am I the only one who thinks Moon Knight fits in fine with these other characters?

Moon Knight to me is one of those characters that not a whole lot of people care about but those that do care about him love him very much, as you can guess I would go into that category. I guess I'm still waiting for that one writer to come along and really tap into the greatness that is Moon Knight and drags him out of the B or C lists and throw him straight into the A list, I mean seriously is Deadpool is on the A list the Moon Knight most definitely should be. Unfortunately the latest run of Moon Knight was written by Marvels top dog Brian Michael Bendis and if he can get more people to give Moon Knight a chance then I don't know who can.

So it looks like from here on in the only Moon Knight action I will get will be in Secret Avengers a book I was about to drop but now seems as though it will stay on my old pull list so I can continue to get my Moon Knight fix.

So Moon Knight until your next series hits the shelves, hopefully sooner then later, I must bid you Senebti.

Achievements vs. Trophies

The other day while at EB games where I was pre-ordering Mass Effect 3 for my younger brother I couldn't help but overhear two gamers, one the store clerk the other a customer, have a very polite argument/debate on which was better The X-Box 360's achievements or Playstation's trophies.

This talk was quite humorous for no other reason then both guys really sucked at the art of argument. One would say one point on why trophies were better and the the other would turn that around and use that exact same point as to why achievements were better then trophies and so forth. I listened to this for only a few minutes but got much joy out of it before getting bored of it. Basically it came down to one saying Gamerscore was more prestigious then trophies because it was an actual number and the other saying that trophies were more prestigious because it was done in levels like say an RPG.

Anyways I found this entertaining because for all intents and purposes they are the exact same thing. The only difference is a few words. Achievements, trophies, gamerscore, levels is a five or ten point achievements better then a bronze and silver trophies. Its all the same.

One of the arguments was that trophies were nothing but Sony's attempt to make a cheap rip off of Microsoft's achievements. Yeah I'd say that is a pretty accurate guess. Sony saw that gamers were going mad for the achievements because it was a way to prove their skill in any one particular game and thus gamers were buying X-Box 360's games and playing them more. Why wouldn't Sony want to cash in on that? Trophies are rip-offs? Sure but whats not a rip off these days? If something is popular naturally someone else, the main competition epically, are going to go out of their way of do something similar to compete. As far as I'm concerned its only a matter of time before Nintendo introduces their own version of achievements/trophies, the only question is what are they going to call them? Badges maybe?

So which one is better? Which do I prefer? Well the second question is easy, I prefer trophies but I also own a PS3 and not a 360, of course I'm going to side with trophies. But which is better? Well I guess that will always be up for debate for gamers everywhere personally I don't think one is better then the other, they are the same, if you buy the same game on the 360 and the PS3 the achevement and trophies lists are identical, the only difference is what is next to the title of the reward? A point total or a trophy color.

At the end of the day its all the same thing and comes down to just one thing for every gamer out there. Bragging rights.


So where do you fall on this subject? Achievements, trophies, both or neither? Let your opinion be known below on the Yak Backs.

My Top 10 Avengers

I have always been a comics fan and at a young age I clung to Marvel over DC, sure I enjoyed a lot of what both companies offered but for me Marvel was tops. That said I was never a big fan of The Avengers. Sure I liked a lot of the characters on the team but for some reason it wasn't until the 2005 launch of New Avengers that I was a real Avengers fan with that in mind, which long time Avengers purists should keep in mind, here are my top 10 Avengers.

#10 Spider Woman


Sure The Spider Woman that was in The New Avengers for a damn long time turned out to be the imposter Skrull Queen but after she was defeated and The Secret Invasion was ended we got the real Jessica Drew back and now she was in a very interesting situation. She was an Avenger but since she was the person that The Skrull Queen impersonated no one trusted her which made for some very interesting character development.

#9 Black Panther

Not only is The Black Panther the King of Wakanda but he is also one of the greatest Avengers of all time. T'Challa broke down a lot of racial barriers when he joined The Avengers. Not only was he one of the first black super heroes but unlike many of the other black heroes who debuted at the time he was never the victim of blackplotation and always was portrayed as the equal to any of the white characters in the Avengers.

#8 Black Widow

She's a smoking hot red headed Russian super spy who can kill you dead five times before you even hit the ground, what more could you ask for? About about the fact that she can kick the ass of nearly any male hero in the Marvel Universe before they even knew they were under attack? Still not good enough? How about the fact that she has made Iron Man, Daredevil, Hawkeye and Captain America (The Bucky version) among others all her bitch? Yeah Black Widow has skills and shes not afraid to use them.

#7 Thor


Sure Thor might be one of "the big three" Avengers but he has never appealed to me the way that some other Avengers have. That said when The Avengers need a powerhouse there is no one that's better then The Asgaurdian God of Thunder, Thor.

# 6 Spider-Man

Sure he has only been an Avenger for a little over five years but if there is any Marvel hero that has lived up to the ideals of what it takes to be an Avenger for the entirety of their existence its good old Peter Parker. Since he has become an Avenger he has spread his ideals of with great power comes great responsibility to his other team mates. He also shows that he lives by this motto more then ever as an Avenger by going up against villains way out of his power range.

#5 Ms. Marvel

You ask who DCs leading lady is and without doubt the answer is Wonder Woman. You ask who Marvels top female character is and there is no real clear cut answer. Sure Marvel has a lot of strong female characters, The Invisible Woman, Jean Grey, and Storm are all names that might get thrown in the conversation but over the last decade Ms. Marvel name has to be thrown in the hat too. She has really made a name for herself to become one of Marvels top super heroines and if her awesomeness continues then maybe one day she might be to Marvel what Wonder Woman is to DC I mean if nothing else shes got a good name for it.

#4 Luke Cage

Of all of the New Avengers there isn't a single one of them that has made as big an impact on the team or increased his own worth then Luke Cage. Before joining The Avengers Cage was a gold shirt steel tiara wearing, jive-talking, hero for hire. Since joining the team he has stepped up his game to the point that after Civil War he became the unofficial leader of The New Avengers.

#3 Iron Man


Of all of the original Avengers, Thor, Hulk, Wasp and Ant Man, its Billionaire playboy Tony Stark, A.K.A Iron Man who is my favorite. I have always had a thing for this guy, first off hes a drunk and everyone loves a good drunk every now and again. Also on top of that he doesn't care what you think of him for standing up for what he believes in which is pretty much what cause that whole super hero Civil War thing a few years back. Think hes an ass? He doesn't care and that right there is enough to give this old souse a thumbs up.

#2 Captain America



You knew Captain America was going to be on this list somewhere it was just a matter of where, turns out hes not at number 1 which itself is a bit surprising even for me. Cap may not of been one of the original members of The Avengers but that doesn't matter at all the only ones who were that made the list were Thor and Iron Man. (which means number one isn't Hulk, Wasp or Ant Man, big surprise right?) Thing is Cap has been a part of pretty much every line up of The Avengers since he was reintroduced in the Marvel Universe in the early days of The Avengers and when hes not a part of the team it just plain feels wrong.

#1 Hawkeye

Hawkeye was nothing more then just an ex-con until he was given a chance by The Avengers and he has made more of that second chance then anyone real or fictional has ever made of a second chance. He has come to represent everything that The Avengers represent. Bravery, loyalty, a never surrender attitude and one of the best team players The Avengers has ever seen. Sure he has no super powers but he can shot a arrow better then anyone else and despite being over powered by every villain that ever comes The Avengers way he is always on the front line ready to give everything so we don't have to. Hawkeye is the man and in short, Hawkeye IS The Avengers.

Ranking Catwoman

When it comes to Batman there is no doubt that his perhaps greatest female foil, hell why are we playing the sex card here, there is no doubt that his greatest foil may just be Catwoman and as such just like all of his other great foils such as The Joker, we have seen a bunch of of different people take up the cat ears to cause trouble for Caped Crusader. Here is my personal ranking of the greatness of these Catwomen.

TBD Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)

I can't say where Ms. Hathaway will land on this list yet since we are all still eagerly awaiting The Dark Knight Rises but I think that in the hands of the very capable Christopher Nolan that she will at the very least not end up at the bottom of the list. If I was to predict where she'll end up on the list, which is exactly what I'm going to do right now, then I would say she'll land right in the middle at #4. So question is who do I think she will be better then, who will she not be better then and yes most importantly where will she actually land on the list after The Dark Knight Rises comes out? Who knows, I guess I'll have to re-visit this blog entry during the summer to say where her official ranking will be. (Find out here in the follow up article)

#9 Halle Berry (Catwoman)

I may not know where Anne Hathaway is going to be on the list but I know that Halle Berry comes in dead last. Why? Any number of reasons, the terrible performance she gives is naturally the main part but the shitty costume (Which some people seem to think is sexy for some reason) and horrendous script don't help her cause either. So congratulations Ms. Berry not only to you continue to unimpress me with everything you do but you are also by FAR the worst Catwoman of all time.

#8 Eliza Dushku (Batman: Year One)

Dushku is low on this list but lets be honest here, she has only been Catwoman briefly in a animated movie that was only a little over a hour long and a short that came with it. What I saw was good but there wasn't a whole lot there to judge maybe if there was more she would be higher but as it stands shes at #8.

#7 Grey DeLise (Batman: Arkham City)

Batman: Arkham City was a damn fun game and one of the best parts about it was that you could play as Catwoman. Grey DeLise took on the role of Catwoman in this game and she did a damn fine job of it but much like Dushku there wasn't a whole lot performance wise to put her to high up on the list. That said that main reason she is above Dushku may just be because I had so much fun playing the game instead of DeLise's performance itself.

#6 Ertha Kitt (Batman 1966)

Do I give away much about the rest of this list by saying that Ertha Kitt is my least favorite of the Catwomen from the 1966 Batman series? Na I figure we knew all three of those Catwomen would be on here anyways. As for Ms. Kitt I think she made a pretty good Catwoman and might even of been higher on the list if not for the fact that the other two Catwomen from the 1966 series were so damn good that they kinda left Kitt in their dust. Maybe if Kitt was the sole Catwoman in another Batman show she would be higher on the list but as it stand she just misses out on making the top 5.

#5 Gina Gershon (The Batman)

Although not the best animated series Batman would have one can't argue that The Batman was a pretty damn solid show and worthy to be in any Bat-fans DVD collection. (note to self, buy The Batman on DVD) Naturally Catwoman has to be a part of any Batman show and it was Gina Gershon who lent her voice to Catwoman this time around and although she was only in five episodes she did a stellar job that left me and many other fans wanting much more Catwoman then what we got in this series.

#4 Lee Merriwether (Batman 1966)

The second of the Catwomen from the Batman 1966 series or more specifically the movie that came from the series. Merriweater was fantastic in the role of Catwoman. It was though this movie and due to that Lee Merriwether that I was introduced to Catwomen in the first place and what a fine introduction it was for that reason and that reason alone Lee Merriwether's Catwoman will always have a happy place in my heart.

 

#3 Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)

Pfeiffer is often times at the top of most Catwoman lists so it might come as shocking that on my list she only reached the lowly number of third place. Don't get me wrong I Pfeiffer oozed pure sex appeal and captured that part of Catwoman better then anyone else ever did. For years I wanted to see Pfeiffer return to the role and finally gave up on that dream when the Catwoman movie was announced and Halle Berry took the role, bla what a huge letdown.

 

#2 Julie Newmar (Batman 1966)

As sexy as Pfeiffer was was as Catwoman I find that Newmar was even sexier. The sexual nature of Catwomen had to be much more subtle in the series for no other reason then the time it was on TV but that was something that worked even better for the character and lets face it we all picked up on it. Newmar's look as Catwoman was also my favorite of any other Catwoman.

#1 Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series)

Yeah Adrienne Barbeau is the Number one Catwoman on my list even though she never once wore the catsuit on TV. Still Barbeau did more with her voice as Catwoman then anyone else did. The stories involving Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series were closer to any other depiction of Catwoman in the comics. Barbeau's voice was perfect for Catwoman is was classy, sexy and everything that anyone would ever want Catwoman to be.


So with my opinions on which Catwoman is the best I would like to do something I have never done before and do a dedication. Yup I would like to dedicate this article to the biggest Catwoman fan I know my internet pal Mrs. Nancy Seigh, stay classy lady.

UPDATE: In case you missed it at the top of the article I have now posted my follow up article now that The Dark Knight Rises. You can check out my re-ranking of Catwoman which now Anne Hathaway right here.