Superhero Media: Fantastic 4 (2005)

Is this the best Fantastic Four film? Probably. Unless the backlog is so great that this comes out after a Marvel Cinematic Universe version, I guess? Not that Fantastic 4 is all that good, though it is better than most give it credit for, most of the major issues stemming from the poor script around which the rest of the film is built. For those waiting for it, no I don't mind that Sue Storm is played by mixed-race Jessica Alba whilst Johnny is played by white Chris Evans, neither character is really defined by race, I just wish that someone would cast two actors that look like siblings, regardless of what race they be. Aside from that hiccup, though, it is the cast of Fantastic 4 which brings it back from train-wreck territory, with the above-mentioned Alba and Evans being joined by Ioan Gruffud (Reed), Michael Chiklis (Ben) and Julian McMahon (Doom), each doing their best to be engaging with what they're given. Yes, Doom isn't presented very much like his comic version, but McMahon is certainly threatening in many scenes and carries an excellent air of malice. 

In light of the success of the MCU, it's easy to say that Fantastic 4 "failed" because it wasn't close enough to the comics, but I really feel that it was more a case of it trying to be another Rami Spider-Man, but for a younger audience. Most of the pertinent details are kept, with Ben Grimm being a pilot, Reed and Doom having been at college together and the existence of Latveria, but they're more references than major plot elements, which can annoy fans of the comics. Ben Grimm is handled well, he and Johnny get on each other's nerves and Sue constantly has to compete with science for Reed's attention; Doom not withstanding, Fantastic 4 is almost a faithful adaptation if you squint at it just right. What the film really reminds me of is the 1990s cartoon series, which also flattened out the rough edges of the characters and setting to present a very "child-friendly" version of the comics, which have always been more about exploration and super-science than fighting villains every issue. 

Given the time in which it was made, I don't feel that Fantastic 4 could really have been much better than it was; the world wasn't ready for a comic-accurate Doctor Doom or something as esoteric as the Fantastic Four can get at times. As much as Fantastic Four is one of the most beloved and iconic comic series ever written, there is a lot to it that doesn't directly translate to a successful film, even with more than a decade of MCU behind it. Not that I'm not looking forward to seeing a "good" version brought to the screen, merely that I'm not expecting the Future Foundation, Council of Reeds or Doom conquering Hell when it does. But hey, bring on Mole Man, Puppet Master, High Evolutionary and all that crazy stuff if you can, Marvel Studios, I'm keen to get as nuts as you're willing to. 

Marvel Crisis Protocol - II

Still working on the shop copy of Marvel Crisis Protocol.

Honestly, they're still not great figures to work with, though these three (Black Widow, Doctor Octopus and Baron Zemo) are better than the others. I've noticed a lot of people online going for more "realistic" colours on these models, so I went bright and comic-book style. They are superheroes after all. 
 

Superhero Media: Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible

Excelsior! It's amazing that reading about Stan Lee's life, in his own words, can still strike a nerve after all this time. What else should Stan Lee's memoir be but a graphic novel? Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible isn't as well produced as a nice Marvel (or even DC) book, but the less iconic style enables the aping of other artists, like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Romita, who feature in the story of Stanley Lieber's journey to icon status. Every panel of Kirby has his cigar trailing a cloud of "Kirby Dots", which is a lovely touch. Speaking of Kirby, Lee does address some of the controversy attached to his time at Marvel and some creators not receiving due credit; I'm not so sure that "we had no idea at the time and it became an issue only much later" is the best of excuses, but it does ring of honestly to me. So if you're looking for the tell-all confession of an industry insider, Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible probably isn't the one for you. 

For all his years as Marvel's "Hype Man", the tone of Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible is shockingly humble, with Lee coming across as genuinely grateful for the life he's led, warts and all. As much as we nerds tend to worship Lee almost unreservedly, for most people, struggling to get comics onto shelves and negotiating Intellectual Property rights wasn't always a good time, and the apotheosis only came much later.  For those who came to love Lee only through multimedia, Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible is not only a cornucopia of the rough road to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but confirms Lee's line from Teen Titans Go! to the Moves, "I love cameos!" For those wondering, his favourite at the time of Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible's writing was from Avengers: Age of Ultron, though Big Hero 6 gets a shout-out as well. 

I think we nerds need to remember that Stan Lee was a person, not a mere icon or figure of worship and deserves no more praise for his creative works, or derision for his faults, than anyone else. Lee's role in the movement of comics from disposable children's literature to the biggest pop culture of the 21st century is undeniable, which makes reading about him and his work highly informative, even if you're still more of a Bob Kane or Steve Ditko person. Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible is not just a book for Marvel fans or Stan Lee fans, it's for anyone interested in the history of comics, or the development of pop culture, or even just the creative process of writing. If you have a comic collection and Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible isn't in there somewhere, you're missing out, it's right up there with your Essentials and Showcases in that it is a major part of the medium's history and informs what we're reading and seeing to this day.

Thinking Out Loud: The Art of Fighting

Big nerdy confession time; I think about superheroes fighting quite a lot. Not just the act of them fighting, but how they fight, how it would look and what, if any, martial arts style they would use. As more and more characters from comics are being adapted for screen, I find this topic on my mind more and more. Now, I'm not martial arts expert, I enjoy my Wuxia and have dabbled with both Aikido and Wing Chun, but my interest is certainly more in the aesthetic camp than the practical. I'm enough of a nerd that I know, off the top of my head that Captain America is trained in Judo, Daredevil uses "some Jujitsu with New York Dirty Boxing thrown in" and in Batman Begins Bruce uses mostly the Spanish Keysi Fighting Method. It takes some exposure and a keen eye, but different methods of fighting (martial arts and such) can look quite different when next to each other on film, so I do think that having each character having a unique fighting style makes for a more interesting fight sequence, when it is done well. The Ip Man films do this quite well, with Donnie Yen's Kung Fu coming up against Tai Kwan Do, Maui Thai and modern Boxing, to name a few, and each of those bouts being pretty spectacular to behold. 

Now, superheroes can do things an ordinary person cannot, which means their fights can move well outside the realm of physical limits. However, someone like Superman or Thor doesn't have a lot of call for learning a rigid martial art (yes, Superman knows Kryptonian martial arts, but they're made up, so can be anything), but taking the time to think about how super-powers may influence fighting style can be a fun exercise. As an example, X-Men character Angel Dust is a MMA fighter, so casting Gina Carano was pretty smart, and we all got to see how super-strength and martial arts training can be a nasty combination. Let's cover Batman before we go any further, because if I don't, "that guy" will complain, you know who you are. Spanish Keysi Fighting Method was a decent choice for the Nolan films, with Batman having been trained in a variety of styles by the time he gets to the League of Shadows, but were I the Fight Coordinator on a Batman film, I'd be looking a Ji Kune Do and/or Krav Maga for Bruce, as both draw on a number of older styles already. Probably much the same for the Bat-sidekicks, but I see Nightwing having more of a parkour-influenced gymkata style (yes, even though it's fake) and Batwoman pretty much purely using Krav Maga, what with being a former Marine Cadet. 

I don't feel I should have to cover Shang-Chi, but I do think the Netflix Iron Fist series made the right decision on making the Kung Lun style similar to Kung Fu, as they both originate in roughly the same area. Fun fact, I recently learned that Savate, for which Batroc the Leaper is known, has a rich history born out of a need to defend oneself from muggers and other assailants, and features stick- and sword-fighting elements. If you have more information on that, please let me know in the comments, looks fascinating. I could make this even longer than my normal articles, with ideas about how Spider-Man should move like a dancer, Penguin needing to do more fencing or Booster Gold fighting "football style" like Flash Gordon, but I think I've covered enough for now. I mean, I've got pages of these. The Phantom should know Masai wresting techniques. Wolverine should do a bit of Kendo in his moves because of his time in Japan. Bane should move like an MMA fighter because he learned as he was fighting. Ok, I'll stop now. 

Superhero Media: The Venture Bros. - Season 3

I was watching season three of The Venture Bros. and I caught myself having to pause the playback occasionally because I was laughing so much and I realised, this may be the start of the series being truly great. Fresh from the conclusion of the previous season, The Monarch and Doctor Mrs My Wife (later Doctor Mrs The Monarch) must face the mysterious Council of Thirteen, leaders of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, fight for their future together and bring the new tone and status quo to the programme. The Venture Bros. has a habit of reshaping itself somewhat with each new season, as the cast is shuffled around and new things are tried, which not only sets it apart from almost every other animated television programme, but makes re-watching it feel like going back to a classic Cable or Netflix series. The word I would use to best describe the third season of The Venture Bros. is "memorable", as every episode is endlessly quotable, new characters are anything but dull and background is added to more of the supporting cast. 

The world that the titular family inhabits broadens in this third season, with the Office of Secret Intelligence [OSI] becoming a fully-fledged organisation, the Guild coming out of the shadows and more of a look at how the broader world reacts to the fact that Dr Venture was the star of a children's cartoon series sometime in the 1960s. The first of the big narrative shake-ups come in the two-part season closer, "The Family that Slays Together, Stays Together", with the death of Henchman 23 and the departure of Brock Sampson from the role of Venture bodyguard; both of which will be major features for the next season. I must have watched most of The Venture Bros. at least a half dozen times, but I'm still struck every time with just how good it can be, from little quips about Jefferson Twilight's absurdly specific power set (hunting Blackulas), from layers of conspiracy being planted in one or two lines that will come to the fore years later (ORB). It's an easy programme to fall into accidentally, with the layers of meaning never quite being obvious as to just how meaningful they will be down the track. 

In case you can't tell, I still love The Venture Bros.; I feel that it may well be one of the best written continuing series being put out, or at least, pretends to be very well. It's a masterclass in writing and world-building for those who love that sort of thing, as well as a great example of how characters can grow and change over time, even in an animated or illustrated medium. Hell, it makes taking a look at older pulpy programmes like Johnny Quest worthwhile, not only as a deconstruction, but with new stories like Future Quest. Some streaming services are now offering The Venture Bros., but you most often have to dig for it, so take a look next time you're browsing for something to binge, you could start a life-long addiction. Again, if anyone knows someone that works on the programme, drop me a line so that I can try and sell my game idea to them, you know you'd buy it, at least to get a 28mm Sky Pilot and Holy Diver.

EDF Special Forces

When normal troops, tanks and planes aren't enough to battle the Kaiju and Invaders that threaten the Earth, humanity calls on unique and deadly weapons to defend the planet.

Rick Dom, Magella Attack Tank, Titan-Slayer Missile and the Hateful Flesh. 

 

1/400 Vending machine toys for Gundam, Kaiju and Sci-fi gaming. 

 

Repainted Dreamblade miniatures, the Titan-Killer is a one-shot, tungsten-headed missile intended to penetrate Kaiju hide and detonate inside the monsters, shredding their organs. The Hateful Flesh is a block of somehow still-living Kaiju bio-matter, kept alive and in pain constantly; the psychic distress this causes can distract Kaiju and drive away their spawn. 

 

Although massive compared to human-made mechs, the Invader "Drone" is on the smaller side of Kaiju. Made to provide command and control functions to the smaller Invader forces, the Drone strikes quickly and moves on, providing an elusive target. 

Superhero Media: The Incredible Hulk Returns

I've never seen much of the classic, Bill Bixby, The Incredible Hulk television series, but thanks to trolling through DVD clearance bins at dodgy shops, I have seen both attempts at launching a spin-off, Trial of the Incredible Hulk and The Incredible Hulk Returns. Six years after the end of the classic series, David Bruce Banner is happy, successful and evidently hasn't had a Hulk incident in a decade, somehow, whilst working for a major science company and dating a coworker. When a mysterious figure from Banner's past, Dr Donald Blake, tracks him down and inadvertently releases the Hulk once more, Banner and Blake, along with Blake's new charge, the Mighty Thor, must avoid detection, save the girl and stop the bad people from stealing the science machine. Did I mention Thor? Yes, well, The Incredible Hulk Returns is not only a "soft reboot" for The Incredible Hulk television series, but is a backdoor pilot for a Thor television series. FYI, Stan Lee purportedly hated this idea, despite his support and love for The Incredible Hulk series. 

Rather than the exiled prince of Asgard, the Thor of The Incredible Hulk Returns is a Viking warrior denied access to Valhalla, brought back to life when Donald Blake holds his hammer and shouts the name "Odin". Unlike the comics, Blake doesn't trade places with Thor, he just hangs around and tries to tell Thor what to do in any given circumstance. Although this is something of a poor choice, it does make for some fun moments, like Thor and Blake bonding at a Biker Bar and Blake and Banner using Thor to distract a journalist. For all the crummy parts that make up The Incredible Hulk Returns, as a whole, it's really not all that bad a watch, if incredibly silly. It's a bit like watching some Knight Rider or The A-Team, you know it's going to be bad going in, so you can enjoy what's good; and if Lou Ferigno painted green is a deal breaker for you, how did you even get this far, seriously? 

I'm hoping that Disney+ secures the rights to The Incredible Hulk at some point, because I've heard the series, if not the "movies", is pretty good most of the time. There's some inspiration there for a "low-rent" takes on superheroes, which I've seen a few people actually game over the years with systems like Pulp Alley and 7TV, Golglo Island Miniatures even do a pretty decent approximation of this version of Hulk in their range. Of course, I have considered making an "Avengers" team of the television versions of Hulk, Thor, Daredevil, Captain America and Spider-Man, but aside from Hulk and Thor, the rest aren't too different from their comic counterparts, and I'm guessing most people would mistake the Daredevil as being from the Netflix series. If you're young enough to have never seen any of The Incredible Hulk, The Incredible Hulk Returns can be worth tracking down for a look, as it's pretty short, and hits most of the beats of the series, but with the added hilarity of Thor and Donald Blake's perm.