Written by Jon Williams
These days,
when you think of superhero-based entertainment, what comes to mind first is
likely the big-budget blockbuster like The
Dark Knight or Guardians
of the Galaxy. While those movies garner a lot of attention—and for
good reason!—there’s plenty to be excited about for fans looking for more
regular installments in their favorite stories. There’s a long and stories
tradition of superhero shows on TV, and that trend shows no sign of slowing
down anytime soon.
I mentioned The Dark Knight because, of course,
Batman is one of the most popular superheroes. Making his DC Comics debut in
1939, the Caped Crusader finally came
to television in 1966. Adam West and Burt Ward played Batman and Robin, the
Boy Wonder, and the series also included iconic turns from Burgess Meredith,
Cesar Romero, and Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt as frequent adversaries. The
lighthearted tone of that series differed greatly from the darker, grittier
portrayals seen in the Michael
Keaton and Christian
Bale movies, as well as from the Gotham
TV series currently airing on Fox.
Making his
debut just before Batman, Superman has been a sometime ally and sometime
adversary to his DC Comics counterpart, such as in the upcoming movie Batman v Superman. A cultural icon, the
Man of Steel has been through many television iterations, beginning in 1952
with Adventures
of Superman, which featured George Reeves donning the cape. In 1988, The
Adventures of Superboy followed Clark Kent and his alter ego in his
youth, while in 1993, Lois
& Clark dealt with Superman’s adventures as well has his
relationship with Lois Lane (actress Teri Hatcher’s big break). Following on
the heels of that show’s popularity, Smallville,
in some ways similar to Superboy,
explores Clark Kent’s origins and younger days.
It’s worth
nothing that yet another DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, also had a
series from 1975-1979 featuring the Amazon warrior princess. There have
been considerably fewer series featuring characters from Marvel Comics, at
least until Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. hit the airwaves in 2013. A notable example, though, is
The
Incredible Hulk, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and starred Bill Bixby as
scientist Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the green behemoth he changes into
during moments of intense anger. A TV movie continuation, The
Incredible Hulk Returns, was originally intended as a setup for a
series featuring Thor, another Marvel superhero, but that never panned out.
DC and
Marvel have been the source for so much superhero lore in pop culture, but
there are a number of other tales as well. One of my favorite shows as a kid
was The Greatest American Hero
(currently unavailable), about a hapless everyman who comes to possess a suit
that bestows a number of powers—but, unfortunately, he loses the instructions
and has to figure it out as he goes along. It also featured one of the all-time
great TV theme songs, “Believe It or Not” by Joey Scarbury. A similar premise
underlies the more recent series Heroes,
in which seemingly ordinary people discover their own superpowers. The show
concluded in 2010, but a 13-episode follow-up is scheduled to air this fall on
NBC.
For those
who love their superheroes, there are obviously plenty of options to choose
from, and more on the way. In addition to current shows like Arrow
and The Flash, there are any number
of shows coming soon, such as Powers,
a superhero detective drama starring Sharlto Copley and Eddie Izzard, and Constantine, a series featuring the DC
Comics character played on
the big screen by Keanu Reeves. In addition, there will be a number of
further additions to the Marvel universe, like Daredevil and AKA Jessica
Jones, both of which will be offered by Netflix. So which of these older
shows do you love, and which of the new ones are you looking forward to?
Written by Jon Williams
It’s one of
the most-hyped movies of the summer. Finally, after months of excitement and
lead-up, Marvel’s The Guardians of the
Galaxy opens in theaters everywhere on Friday. The powers-that-be behind
the film are so confident in its success, a sequel has already been announced—with
an expected release date of July 28, 2017. And as anyone who has seen the
trailers and TV spots will tell you, it’s for good reason. The movie looks to
be a pure fun, action-packed summer blockbuster.
Of course,
this isn’t Marvel/Disney’s first go-around with bringing a high-powered
superhero ensemble to the big screen. In 2012, The
Avengers took the box office by storm, becoming one of the
highest-grossing films of all time. Of course, that movie dealt with a group of
well-known superheroes; each of the principals ( Iron
Man, Captain
America, Thor,
and the
Incredible Hulk) had at least one standalone movie prior to their
big-screen team-up. The Guardians, on the other hand, are relatively unknown
outside of the comics world. So who are they?
The
Guardians are led by Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, played by Chris
Pratt. Quill finds himself in possession of a powerful object that sets him
in the way of the evil Ronan, an alien warlord played by Lee
Pace. In order to protect the galaxy from the chaos planned by Ronan, Quill
teams up with a ragtag group of misfits—the Guardians of the Galaxy.
One of the
most interesting members of the group is Rocket, a wisecracking, genetically
engineered mercenary…raccoon. He provides some comic relief, but is an
essential member of the team as their weapons and tactics expert. He’s voiced
by Bradley
Cooper. Rocket’s sidekick in an anthropomorphic tree named Groot, a
powerful warrior who is nonetheless the most unabashedly good-natured character
on the team. Groot’s voice is provided by Vin
Diesel.
Another
warrior Guardian is Drax the Destroyer. Not a mercenary, Drax joins the team as
a way to seek revenge against Ronan, who was responsible for the death of his
family. This scarred hulk is played by WWE wrestler Dave
Bautista. And rounding out the team is Gamora, played by Zoe
Saldana, familiar to sci-fi fans for her roles in Avatar and the Star Trek
reboots. She plays an assassin trained by Thanos, the shadowy villain
mastermind behind Ronan’s shenanigans.
Of course,
Thanos and Ronan have a team of henchmen as well, made up of characters played
by Michael
Rooker, Djimon
Hounsou, and Karen
Gillan (best known as Amy Pond, companion to Matt Smith’s eleventh Doctor).
Other well-known actors in the star-studded film include Glenn
Close, John
C. Reilly, Benicio
del Toro, Nathan
Fillion, Peter Serafinowicz, and the voices of Josh
Brolin and Rob
Zombie.
With a cast
like that, and all the fun the film is sure to bring, it’s no wonder that
Disney feels good enough to already be thinking ahead to the sequel. The
Guardians of the Galaxy are sure to be the talk of the summer from this point
forward. The soundtrack
is available now, and be sure to have plenty of other superhero films on your
shelves for fans who just can’t get enough.
Written by Kirk Baird
In a recent interview with Stan Lee, I asked the famed comic-book writer and co-creator of so many classic Marvel superheroes — the Amazing Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four — if there are any titles remaining he would still like to see on the big screen.
Of course Lee, 89, had several he said would make great movies, Dr. Strange and Black Panther being two he mentioned by name. He also said if any Marvel film was competently and properly made, any of its superheroes could be a winner on screen. Perhaps that’s why he’s excited about the upcoming Ant-Man adaptation by Edgar Wright ( Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).
But alas, not all superhero films are created equally, especially from Marvel properties. But those that have worked have been met with critical praise and huge box-office numbers, the biggest and best of these being this summer’s The Avengers. This all-star team-up of some of Marvel’s biggest names — Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow — not only was the biggest film this summer, but ranks as the third biggest moneymaker of all time. With the release of The Avengers on DVD and Blu-ray, here are some of the other best and brightest of the Marvel superhero film catalog:
The first two X-Men movies ( X-Men and X2) and the prequel reboot, X-Men: First Class. The link between these three movies is filmmaker Bryan Singer, the director and cowriter of the first two X-Men movies and a hands-on producer for the reboot. In between these high points for mutant kind was X-Men: The Last Stand, which Singer and his writing team abandoned in favor of the ill-fated reboot, Superman Returns, while director Brett Ratner was brought in at the last minute.
X-Men: First Class was a successful attempt at negotiating around the third film disaster and reigniting the X-Men franchise, this time at the beginning, with a new cast, several new heroes, and a fun 1960s James Bond vibe.
Iron Man and Iron Man 2: With the cheeky brilliant Robert Downey, Jr., in the lead of Tony Stark/Iron Man, a genius, cocky, and sardonic scientist billionaire, the first Iron Man proved to be a classic in the comic-book genre. I’m in the minority, though, in thinking that Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel. In terms of summer popcorn entertainment, it does exactly what it needs to do: keep you entertained from start to finish. Look for Iron Man 3 next summer.
Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2: I’m not so much a fan of this summer’s Spider-Man reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, as I feel it covered much of the same back-story territory that Sam Raimi and co. did with the first Spider-Man, which launched the franchise in splendid fashion. The second film was even better, now that the characters had been established and it could move beyond the origin story. The third film, unfortunately, tried too hard to one-up its predecessors, squeezing in three villains and a muddled plot.
Captain America: The First Avenger: With the origin of Captain America as the movie’s plot, director Joe Johnston cobbles together an engaging superhero romp that never takes itself too seriously, and even manages to pay homage to World War II propaganda films. Chris Evans makes for the ideal film representation of the perfect soldier. Evans will also don the red, white, and blue costume again in 2014 for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Written by Kirk Baird
The Hulk
along with the other Avengers smashed the movie competition last weekend with a
record-breaking $207-million opening. (To put that figure in perspective,
consider that the previous No. 1 opening belonged to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, with nearly $170
million.) The Avengers is a superhero mash-up featuring some of Marvel Comics’
top names — Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Hulk —
who join forces to save Earth from an evil god and his alien invasion force. But
The Avengers is only the latest-greatest superhero film, with dozens of titles
featuring the heroes battling villains solo and in teams.
The Hulk:
The Hulk (2003)
Hulk VS. … (2008 animated movie)
*The Incredible Hulk (1978, TV Premiere,
and seasons 1-5)
The
Incredible Hulk Returns/Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989, TV movies)
*Planet Hulk (2009 animated movie)
Thor:
Iron Man:
Iron Man, the Complete 1994 Animated
Series (1994-1996,
animated series)
Iron Man: New Animated Series (2010, animated series)
Iron Man — Extremis (2010, animated series)
Captain
America:
*Captain America — The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America (1979, TV movie pilot)
Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979, TV movie pilot)
The
Avengers:
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010 –, animated series)
The Avengers: United They Stand (1999-2000, animated series)
Next Avengers — Heroes of Tomorrow (2008, animated)
Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006, animated film)
* denotes Kirk's picks
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