X-Ray Vision

I realize that I have been talking about Deadpool a lot here recently, but that’s just because a lot of big Deadpool events are going on recently. Such as a new movie with Deadpool opening at midnight tonight which I will be attending. I heard Wolverine is in the movie too.

Anyways, as you might have heard before, I think Ryan Reynolds is the perfect casting role for Deadpool . I am even more convinced that Reynolds will be perfect when I read his interview at MTV about a future Deadpool movie . I love that the guy wants to stick to the source material, break the 4^th wall, and hell, a Deadpool musical could be quite entertaining. Imagine the scene in this following picture being played out to music.

I am very excited to see Ryan Reynolds portray the merc with a mouth on the big screen tonight, even though he has admitted some changes were made to Deadpool’s character. I am looking forward to a true adaptation of Deadpool even more.

-        Gonzo

I wrote about the great comic clothing you can find at the 80’s Tees website a while back, but now I have found something even better! The site superherostuff.com advertises itself as “the largest friggin’ superhero store on the web” and they back it up. They have a huge assortment of comic shirts featuring DC, Marvel, and various other characters. They have assorted other comic memorabilia including statues and banks and posters.

I have spent hours browsing through this website and it is only by sheer force of will I haven’t spent my entire life savings. I wish some of the statues and other items weren’t continuously sold out, but there are still more than enough comic related products for me to spend my money on. They constantly get new shirts and they have weekly $15 sales. They are also running a contest for X-Men Origins: Wolverine where you can answer some Wolverine trivia questions to get 15% off your next purchase and a chance to win a free shirt. Get your superhero stuff here.

• - Gonzo

Breaking News: I am absolutely in love with Marvel right now. They are bringing back Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to X-Box Live and the Playstation Network. I remember spending so much time using Spider-Man and Wolverine to kick the crap out of Ryu and Ken. Actually, most of the time I got the crap kicked out of me, but it was still one of the best games ever. With over 50 characters to choose from this is definitely going to eat up a lot of my time when it comes out, which is reported to be sometime this summer. Check out the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 announcement here and watch the trailer here repeatedly. I know I will have personally watched it at least 1000 times by the time the game comes out.

               - Gonzo

I recently came across The Amazing Spider-Man #589, and I have to say that it was one of my favorite issues in a while. It wasn’t because of the storyline, which reintroduced the inter-dimensional jumping criminal, the Spot, but rather some of Spider-Man’s observations.

There were repeated references to The Dark Knight throughout the comic, as Spider-Man wonders how Christian Bale managed to keep up that low growl throughout the movie. Spider-Man of course tries to imitate the Batman voice and ends up in a coughing fit. He then decides that the idea of criminals being intimidated by that voice is ridiculous, until of course he uses it on a criminal who quickly caves in to his demands. This leads to my favorite line of the comic: “Criminals are indeed a superstitious, cowardly lot…hope don’t get sued for that.”

It is just nice to see some of that good old Spider-Man humor being injected into the comic after some too serious arcs that really pissed me off. I’m looking at you Brand New Day. Hopefully the comedic relief continues for a little bit until Peter Parker and Mary Jane are reunited for about the hundredth time. It’ll happen, just you wait and see.

-        Gonzo

Today is a tribute to Bea Arthur, best known for her roles in The Golden Girls, Maude, and of course as the object of Deadpool’s fantasies. If it were not for the oft mentioned infatuation Deadpool had with this gracefully aged actress, I would never have known about this woman who had comedic timing to match that of Deadpool. Unfortunately, Bea Arthur has passed away, and I for one am hoping to see a tribute to her in a future issue of Deadpool. I just hope this news doesn’t shatter his already cracked psyche. Here’s to you Bea, none will miss you as much as Deadpool.

               - Gonzo

I have been reading Batman Black and White vol. 1 and I have to say I have been very impressed by the stories. Some of the biggest names in the industry, both writers and artists, have contributed standalone stories featuring the caped crusader. Included are stories from two of my favorite writers, Archie Goodwin and Neil Gaiman . There is also art by such renowned artists as Jim Lee and Neal Adams.

The stories range from looks into Batman’s psyche, to average crime stopping stories, to some abstract tales. One of the most interesting stories in the collection was written by Neil Gaiman and looks at Batman and the Joker as if they were actors in a show. Another great story was by Bruce Timm, chronicling the cure and return of Two-Face. The black and white artwork is striking and the different styles of the artists all have their own appeal. This is a great book to check out a variety of perspectives on Batman and grabs interest immediately.  

               - Gonzo  

There have been a lot of discussions about a Magneto origin movie following X-Men Origins: Wolverine, depending on how well Wolverine does in the theaters. I have heard the script has been written for Magneto already, and if Magneto does well, who knows how many X-Men spinoffs we could see?

Thinking about this I thought about which X-Men I would like to see in standalone movies and have come up with the following:

Gambit: The charming Cajun mutant would be great in his own movie. He has a rich back-story going from his days as a thief until he ends up joining the X-Men. I’m not sure who I’d like to play him, but if Taylor Kitsch of Friday Night Lights fame does well as Gambit in X-Men Origins, then I’m all for him reprising the role.

Bishop: Bishop is a complete badass from the future who has no qualms about shooting people in the face. He has been hardened by fighting for his life every single day and I could see this movie going in two directions. It could either follow his life in the future, as he struggles to survive as a mutant, or it could follow the storyline where he comes back to the past to help the X-Men change the future. Either way I think Samuel L. Jackson has the perfect look for this role. He definitely looks ruthless.

Juggernaut: I just love watching Juggernaut destroy stuff. I suppose the story could detail his relationship with his half brother Charles Xavier AKA Professor X, but mostly I just want to see him destroy stuff. This would probably be a film best handled by Michael Bay and his vast assortment of explosions.

These are all my movie ideas for now. If you have any pitches you would like the various Hollywood hot shots to see leave them in the comments. Perhaps a Nightcrawler/Mystique/Rogue family film?

-        Gonzo

After several months of listening to my numerous diatribes on various subjects, I have brought in a friend to help keep things fresh here at X-Ray Vision. My friend Mickey, a faithful reader and leaver of ridiculously long comments , has been wanting to contribute a post on the Tick for a while, so without further ado welcome to the first ever X-Ray Vision guest post!

-        Gonzo

The Tick: superhero, defender of all that is right, the best damn orator and man with a grasp of syntax that you will come across, and of course the great blue yonder.  There are so many things to discuss when The Tick is brought up.  He is a mental institution runaway, who instead of wreaking havoc on the innocent civilians begins his time on the outside as a protector of a gas station, battling a malfunctioning soda machine.  His sanity is always a question, yet because he is friendly it doesn’t seem to be an issue. 

These eccentricities drive the comic and the television show (I find the Patrick Warburton live action incredibly funny) and make the Tick into a character that doesn’t show all that much superhero qualities.  He is strong, but does little to actually help people.  He is big and valiant, but often this turns out badly as an accidental destruction of a building, or the like, occurs.  However, as corny as this may sound, his power lies with his ability to make those around him super.  He makes Arthur, his little sidekick, believe in himself, become more than an accountant, and be what he wants to be.  Now, as altruistic and corny as this may be, it is a wonderful message that really should be a more prominent part of superhero writing - a person’s power to change another person for the better, to make them into what they dream to become. Alfred does this for Batman, in a much different way. I am a fan of the Tick who finds any stumbling upon the character a gem that usually makes my day much better than it started out.  

-        Mickey

Like all comic book fans, I consider myself a fairly handsome guy. When I’m not catching up on back issues of Deadpool, I like to use that handsomeness to mingle with ladies. An important part of the mingling process happens to be wearing awesome clothes, and by awesome I mean comic book related.

I have found a site called 80’s Tees that has a pretty darn good selection of spiffy comic clothing. They have t-shirts with Conan, Spider-Man, and a particularly cool one with Batman (see above). Some of the hoodies are awesome; my particular favorite is the Flash hoody that zips up into a mask. Then again some of the hoodies are less cool, such as the Aquaman zip-up. Who would wear that?

The prices are reasonable with about a $28 average on shirts and $50 average on hoodies. Go ahead and drop a couple dollars, the ladies will love it. Speaking of the ladies there are also some nice costumes available, complete with mini-skirts! Visit 80’s Tees and complete your wardrobe so you can look as good as me.

-        Gonzo

Alright, it’s the time you’ve been waiting for. Like I promised while gloating about my new title of Denver Comic Book Guy , here is some G.I. Joe news: Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has come out with a new G.I. Joe miniseries! This series is called G.I. Joe: Resolute and is absolutely amazing. It definitely kicks the crap out of the original G.I. Joe cartoon. Case in point, the series opens up with one of the Joes with a knife stuck in his chest.

All your favorite characters are there, Scarlett looking foxy, Duke giving orders, Cobra Commander with his real mask, and Snake Eyes just destroying souls. Warren Ellis did an excellent job writing this series, especially for somebody with no previous background in G.I. Joe lore. The storyline involves the normal themes of world domination, death rays, and countries exploding, so it basically kicks ass. Did I mention there is a showdown between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow on the island where they trained to be ninjas? If you are a fan at all of the G.I. Joe series or seeing Snake Eyes chop people in half check out G.I. Joe: Resolute online .

-        Gonzo