Iron Man 3 Review

Hey, you guys remember that movie, you know, the one that came out with the dude in the metal rocket suit? It was right before he was in the Avengers. Iron Man, yeah. That didn't have a sequel. Okay, well, now it did. (There's spoilers if you haven't seen it.)

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Okay, obviously I jest about there being no Iron Man 2. Otherwise how could we be optimistic about Iron Man 3? Okay yeah let's just start things.

So Iron Man 3 is more of a sequel to The Avengers than it is to IM2. Which makes sense, nobody wanted to remember 2. So we got Tony. Gone is his random alcoholism that appeared in 2, which all the comic fans were waiting with baited breath to see. Instead, we get a Stark with panic attacks. I'm a bit torn on these, because on the one hand it makes Stark's entrance into a world of actual superhumans have more weight, so it actually affected his character. On the other hand, It's like they picked it from a list, and added it into scenes later. By the end of the movie this little subplot never actually gets resolved, he just sort of gets over it somehow by beating the movie's villain.

Pepper starts cool as usual, running the company and shit, and the romance between her and Tony still isn't really played up in here. It's just sort of there, but nothing really happens with it. As far as what happens to her in the movie, it's a little back and forth. At one point she's wearing parts of the Iron Man suit, but then she's kidnapped and scienced-on, then right at the end she's badass for a second, and it's over. I mean, they barely avoided the Women-In-Refrigerators thing with her, but for a big chunk of the movie she's just sort of strapped to an upright table. Neither of those is what I'd like for Pepper, considering she's best as the competant businesswoman who happens to be dating Tony. My problem with this is the fact that when people try to make "Strong Female Characters" they tend to always go for physically strong, and by this point that's a tired concept. (CoughDarkKnightRisesCatwomancough)

The villains. Firstly there's the Mandarin who (SPOILER ALERT) was an actor the whole time. On one hand it kind of makes sense, because the Mandarin makes no sense. On the other hand, it's kind of lazy, seeing as how they could just throw anything at him and be all "WELL HE WAS FAKE SO WHATEVER HA HA HA." Not to mention the whole thing seems a little too Dark Knight Rises for my tastes. You know, he's Bane, the villain that has no motivation, and then Dr. I Don't Remember Her Name is like Talia, in that she acts friendly but is all evil later.

Killian, the real villain apparently, really didn't make much sense to me. I mean, yeah, he wanted to bang Pepper, but seriously, he was all buff and hot and stuff, don't you think he would have moved on by that point? And I'm a little confused about his logic with stuff. So, in his secret research facilities, people exploded, so he decided to make people explode in public places, Then he made up the Mandarin so the Government would have someone to blame for the random explosions he caused. ...Then... Profit? I mean, yeah, he was looking for a government contract, but it seems way too elaborate for that. You would think if he blew the hell out of a dude's house with helicopters and then kidnapped the President, it would make it a bit too easy to find the people that did it. I don't get where he was going.

War Machine, er, Iron Patriot was fine. I mean, he didn't really change too much, and I guess he helped Tony instead of punching him, so that works. The problem was halfway through the movie when we get Small Town Time with Anakin Skywalker. That was pretty annoying,

I expected a bit more out of the whole Extremis thing, like I thought it would tie in more with the whole Super Soldier thing that was in Captain America and The Incredible Hulk. It just sort of happened, as a random bad thing independent of the rest. I really thought, at the very least, Killian's motivation would be for the human race to survive in a world with Gods and Hulks. Without that he felt pretty shallow. If anything this movie suffers from trying to be both really on its own and really connected to The Avengers.

So overall, better than Iron Man 2, not as good as Iron Man 1. It was like Avengers in that it was a pretty good ride, but didn't really have much depth to it. The scene with a billion Iron Mans is probably the most memorable one, but who knows what else you'd remember. It's still worth a watch, especially if you've suffered through Iron Man 2. So until next time, this is the W Defender.

NYCC 2012: Superior Spider-Man Preview

Yes! What you've been waiting for! I attended the panel entitled: Marvel NOW!: Amazing Spider-Man and Beyond. What's Beyond you ask? Well, it's the Superior Spider-Man.

Yes, after Amazing Spider-Man #700 and the cataclysmic events within, the Amazing Spider-Man series will be cancelled, to be replaced by Superior Spider-Man next January. Oh, and the kicker, this Superior Spider-Man is not Peter Parker.

When I first heard this, I was livid! How could they kill off another Spider-Man?! Not another Death of Spider-Man! I couldn't take that. But, you know, after the panel, I think my fears are somewhat assuaged.

First of all, Dan Slott and Steve Wacker made it clear that Peter not being Spider-Man does NOT mean he is dying. What it does mean is still up in the air, but I think I can say with confidence that Peter Parker will still be with us in this Superior series.

Dan Slott also assured the people that this new Spider-Man will not be some random asshole (CoughMilesMoralescough) but instead someone with "Spider-Man pedigree." That alone makes me less apprehensive about the storyline.

See, with that, it can still be about continuing Peter's story, especially if the new Spider-Man is still connected to Peter. In Ultimate, Peter's story was simply aborted, ended without a solid conclusion, to be replaced by someone we've never seen before.

One criticism that seems common about Superior Spider-Man is that people seem to think it will be "grim and gritty" while in the press release, people like Slott said it would be "dark and weird". I can understand the jumping to conclusions, but in explaining what they meant by "dark and weird" they cited stories like The Death of Gwen Stacy, and Kraven's Last Hunt, which are quintessential Spidey stories.

All that, combined with the fact that I could tell that Dan Slott still really loves Spider-Man, puts me more at ease about this project. I'm eager to see what they're doing, and I only hope Dan Slott doesn't pull another New Ways to Die and make me sad.

In other news, Venom is moving to San Franc-- I mean, Philadelphia! Yes, home of the Liberty Bell and some other stuff I guess. I don't mind him moving from New York, but I really thought the Venom series would involve a lot more exciting locales, like Yopilistan or whatever. I'll have to see how the new writer, Cullen Bunn, does.

A new Morbius: The Living Vampire series is starting, as an exploration of the more occult or supernatural horror aspects of the Marvel Universe. I can get behind that, and Morbius seems like a good enough character to follow.

Oh, and SPECULATION TIME: At one point during the Q&A of the panel, one kid asked why they don't make Spider-Man 2099 stories anymore. Steve Wacker and Dan Slott answered in a strange way, "Oh, you like Miguel O'Hara? You think he's a good Spider-Man?" Yeah, see, I think Superior Spider-Man might be some version of Miguel O'Hara. For example, look at the cover, above. See his hands on the wall? They're more smashed in, like he's using claws to climb instead of sticky fingers. I mean, it's purely speculation at this point, but that's half the fun. Some people think it might be Kaine, but since the Scarlet Spider series will continue after ASM #700, I can safely say that's not a reasonable expectation. But who knows, maybe it's Alpha! Oh god, I hope not. Until next time, this is the W Defender!

New York Comic Con Day 1

It's time for W Defender's Comic Con Coverage! Yes, I am at New York Comic Con this year, and things are looking pretty hopping. Today wasn't that busy for me, but I'll just go over what I've seen.

A Look Inside The Batmobile:

This was the premier of a documentary on the Batmobile, all variations of it, which will be on the special Blu-ray of the Dark Knight Rises. It was pretty interesting, to see the design ethos' at work behind each new edition of the Batmobile, from the Adam West version to the Tumbler. Good stuff.

Marvel And DC:

I stopped by the Marvel and DC booths, rather than check out any of the panels they had. At DC they mostly showcased their new fighting game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. It looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. They had a green screen where you could put yourself on a Justice League or DC Supervillains comic cover, and you got a print. I think mine turned out pretty well.

At Marvel, they mostly focused on their Marvel NOW series, particularly Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men. They had their usual Break Into Comics: The Marvel Way panel, which I went to because Mark Bagley and Dan Slott were going to be there.

Tomorrow is a panel on Marvel NOW, specifically the new series, Superior Spider-Man, and that's what I'm really interested in. I'm a bit afraid of what's going to happen with that, but more on that after the panel.

Also, Dan Slott recognized me by my T-shirt and the fact that I was tweeting #DanSlottProblems during the summer. It was fun.

Next time: More NYCC coverage! Hopefully more substantial.

UPDATE: Turns out the Spider-Man panel is on Sunday. Nothing happened on Saturday, we're ignoring that. Check back next time for almost definite bitching about Spider-Man. THIS IS THE W DEFENDER.

An Open Letter to Alan Moore

Dear Alan Moore,

Hey, how are you? So, just saw the announcement that you're writing another Lovecraft comic. I must say, I didn't expect another one of those to happen. See, I know you wrote the first one to pay off some bills so I can almost understand you making it.

Well, actually, no I cannot. See, Neonomicon was one the worst things I've ever read. It took the setting of cosmic horror invented by H.P. Lovecraft and perverted it into the most depraved forms of disgust I've seen. It has a ten page rape scene, for God's sake. That's not Lovecraft. That's not Lovecraftian. That's not even close.

Lovecraftian horror is about what lurks beyond human perception, it's about being unable to escape your heritage, it's about the things that lurk in the deepest oceans and the farthest reaches of space. It is not about watching a woman get raped by a bunch of depraved people and then a Deep One. Neonomicon was not enjoyable to read. It is not enjoyable to think about. It is not enjoyable to remember that such a thing exists in this world.

And now you're writing a new story set in the world of Lovecraft, starring the man himself. Apparently you're going to explore "Lovecraft's sympathies with Adolf Hitler." I wish you wouldn't do this. Like all people, Lovecraft was a man with flaws, and nobody who is familiar with Lovecraft is ignorant of this fact. He was an incredibly creative and talented writer, but that does not change the fact that he was a racist. You know this, and I know this. Is there any need to fictionalize any facet of that, to paint a little picture to show the world? It's possible it could be a cathartic experience, to see it confronted, but I know your works. I know Neonomicon. If you take the Deep Ones and create 10 of the most brutal pages of art I have ever seen, I know nothing good can come of it if you take Lovecraft's racism.

I know it's too late now to implore you not to write this. Contracts have been signed, you've likely written it already, and production is in order. I likely couldn't convince you not to, even if I had written this earlier. All I can say is, I wish you hadn't written it.

Signed,

A Concerned Lovecraft Fan