The PC Thug: DC vs. Marvel Comics – My Favorite Comic Book Gimmick of the 90’s

PCThug-logo

Every fanboy and fangirl on the internet are buzzing about Batman fighting Superman and will soon be bickering about Team Captain America fighting Team Iron Man in “Civil War.” Personally, I love and hate it. I love it because it proves that these characters are still very important and relevant and I hate it because some people are taking the debate too far. Seriously, stop harassing people simply because they share a different opinion. No one deserves to die simply because they really disliked a movie about an alien fighting a man dressed as a bat. I’ve been a Superman fanatic since I was eight, and I’m not about to send Zack Snyder a letter bomb for treating Superman poorly. The mainstream still thinks we’re all angry virgin boys hiding in our parents’ dark basements, and wanking off to “Star Trek” erotica.

Don’t perpetuate the stereotype, please. Remember: It’s all bullshit and it’s bad for you.

Continue reading

Animated Spider-Man Ranked from Worst to Best

CivilWar-Spiderman

If you’re like me, you saw the second trailer to “Captain America: Civil War” and you were very shocked and incredibly excited to see Spider-Man appear before the clashing of titans to give us a trademark quip before stealing Captain America’s shield. It’s only a three second clip, but it says a lot about what Marvel is planning to do with the character, and how it promises to be every way superior to Sony’s previous cinematic efforts. The Marvel Cinematic Universe almost feels complete. Now if someone can twist the arm of FOX with “Fantastic Four”… I digress. In either case, the welcome presence of Spidey had me thinking about his animated presence on television and how some studios have gotten him all wrong, while others have gotten him just right. Here are the animated versions of Spider-Man ranked from the absolute worst to the absolute best.

What is your ranking for your Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler?

Continue reading

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Sony seems to be following the plan of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movie series, with “Amazing Spider-Man 2” being “The Dark Knight” of the series. Except Sony doesn’t seem to have a clear end in sight for their own flagship franchise. Which may or may not be a good thing. If they keep up the momentum that “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” does, we might be in store for a very complete reboot with a clear cut satisfying evolution of its titular hero. The writers and producers focus very heavily on correcting former director Sam Raimi’s mistakes, and they have pulled it off well. Granted this follow up to the 2012 reboot isn’t perfect, but it’s better than its Raimi predecessor.

Continue reading

Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

hulk-agents-of-smashDisney and Marvel presents “Hulk and the Agents of Merchandising Possibilities”! Demonstrating the same business model as their rivals at the Cartoon Network, Disney and Marvel’s fusion has guaranteed all the former Marvel shows scrapped in favor of more juvenile and louder action shows. ‘”Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” was taken off in favor of the less complex and more action friendly “Avengers Assemble,” and now Marvel has given Hulk his own vehicle.

Continue reading

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

ZwstoaTWhile deep down Sony engineered a reboot of “Spider-Man” in an effort to secure the rights, “The Amazing Spider-Man” uses the opportunity to correct the mistakes made by previous franchise runner Sam Raimi. Where Raimi opted for camp and schlock with his installments, “The Amazing Spider-Man” launches a more dramatic approach. Where Raimi opted for the traditional Spider-Man, Marc Webb constructs a more radical re-thinking of the Spider-Man mythos. And unlike Raimi, director Marc Webb opts to side step the camp flavor as much as humanly possible. This reboot is much more true to the Spider-Man we all know and love, and thankfully it’s a superior film that promises to age better than Sam Raimi’s films.

Continue reading

Ultimate Spider-Man: Excelsior Entertainment

“Ultimate Spider-Man” the comic, from what I remember, was an edgy, sleek and rather dramatic reboot of the entire Spider-Man universe. And odds are if you’re used to angsty stern Peter Parker from Sam Raimi’s films and the newest cinematic outing with Andrew Garfield, “Ultimate Spider-Man” the TV series might take some getting used to. In fact, “Ultimate Spider-Man” completely side steps most of the angst, drama, and melancholy that comes with the territory of Spider-Man’s world, and grabs a hold of the comedy by the throat and dives in head first.

Continue reading

Three Years Later… "Spider-Man 3"

The transformation scene of Flint Marko de-materializing and then forming in to a human once again through his sand abilities is rather incredible. Raimi just outdoes himself here and the sequence is mesmerizing. There’s even a scene where Sandman balloons in to a humongous sandstorm pounding down on Spider-Man. But, again, no one really cared. Venom was the attraction. What do you expect from the fans? Venom is more popular than Spider-Man himself! But you have to give it to Raimi for at least trying to take a considerably lame villain and attempting to bring him to the attention of movie goers alike. He even retcons the entire origin of Spider-Man by making Sandman one of the folks who took part in the death of Uncle Ben.

So what all seems like a quick crime turns in to a pretty lame moment where Ben tries to talk Flint out of stealing his car and is shot by his partner for his resistance. All things considered, it’s a shame because Thomas Haden Church is a doppleganger to his comic counterpart and his strong performance is just forgotten. Venom is obviously shoe-horned in to the movie due to his sudden introduction in the second half because Raimi commits a heinous crime by completely reducing him in to a second rate villain. With that Raimi makes his position clear to both fans and the studio. He wanted Sandman to take center stage, Venom just isn’t important.

Continue reading