Looks like its going to be based on Civil War.  Give me a team with Storm, Luke Cage, and Black Panther, and that would give me the power, strength, and intelligence to take on all comers.

I don’t care what you are reading or doing right now.  If you have not picked up this issue, then you need to get on it.  The Secret Invasion tie-ins are all pretty good, but I think that the Secret Invasion story in Black Panther is a cut above the rest (there might be some bias here, but that’s beside the point)  Between issue #40 (also a must read) and issue #41 you get everything that we like about T’Challa.  Not for once was I ever worried about the King and Queen of Wakanda.  Okay, maybe I was a little worried at the end of #40.  But after you read this issue, you will know that there is never any reason to doubt T’Challa’s resourcefulness, intelligence, and military savvy.

Previous Black Panther Secret Invasion Posts

Black Panther #39:  Black Panther vs. The Skrulls

Wakanda vs. The Skrulls

This will be the easiest review that I’ve written so far.  Simply put, this is the best comic book movie ever.  Everything was exactly as it should be.  The acting, the minimalist effects, the pacing and the writing were all superb.  Heath Ledger’s Joker was terrifying.  He was exactly as the Joker is portrayed in the comics, a brilliant looney bird who does what he does for one reason:  Chaos.  Aaron Eckhart was great as both Harvey Dents.  Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, and Sir Michael Caine continued their portrayals from Batman Begins.  The only flaw was that I still wasn’t hot on Rachael Dawes presence or Maggie Gyllenhaal’s characterization.   This movie makes me even more excited for the next Batman film.

Another thing I liked is that you can tell we are still early in Batman’s career.  He still makes mistakes, and everything isn’t perfect.  We are watching him become the hero that we know from the comic books.  He doesn’t quite anticipate his enemy’s next move.  He isn’t the detective that figures everything out.  He doesn’t put down bad guys in seconds (though he did take out two S.W.A.T. units).  It’s still an origin story.  Bruce Wayne is finding out what it means to be Batman, and what he’s giving up.  Right now he isn’t Batman because he wants to be, he’s Batman because he has to be. 

Not to be esoteric or anything, but the thing that has always intrigued me about Batman is that I always believed that Bruce Wayne was the secret identity and Batman was who he really was.  But Christopher Nolan’s characterization shows us that Bruce Wayne is trying to hold on the being Bruce Wayne.  The Batman persona hasn’t quite become dominant, but it’s clear in this movie that he is on that road.

The only thing is that we won’t get to see this version of the Joker ever again.   Now I see why there is talk of an posthumous Oscar nomination for Ledger.  At first I thought it was just promotional propaganda because of his passing, but after seeing the movie, I realize that the talk was justified.  With Heath Ledger’s passing, I don’t know if they are going to revive the Joker character with another actor, but if it were me, I wouldn’t want to try to follow his performance.  Most people liked Jack Nicholson’s Joker from Batman, but even he doesn’t compare to Heath Ledger.  What makes a comic book movie, or any movie with a hero really good is the quality of the villain.  For me, Heath Ledger’s Joker is right up there with Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, and Norman Bates.

Wow. Marvel knows what its doing.  I thought it wasn’t going to get any better than Iron Man, but guess what, it did.  Okay.  Maybe they are both about the same.   Once again they give you hints of the Marvel Universe, and they tie the two movies together along with setting up other elements of the Marvel Universe.  Half the fun of watching the movie was trying to pick up on all the different hints and easter eggs hidden. You already know about the Tony Stark cameo, but that’s not the only thing in the movie.  I am sure I didn’t catch them all, but the ones that I did spot wowed me.  (Is that a word?)  Just like I said about Iron Man, go see this movie now.  Do not hesitate, do not stop at go.   A more detail review to come later. 

Also, I saw The Happening.  Don’t waste your time on that movie.

Okay, this was the best superhero movie since Spider-Man.  It was filled with action and laughs.  Robert Downey, Jr. was the perfect person to cast as Tony Stark.  I can’t think of anyone who could have done a more convincing job playing the billionaire playboy.  The overall casting of the film was excellent as there were five Oscar Nominees/Winners who took their roles seriously.  The icing on the cake were the nods to the Marvel Universe such as Rhodey looking at the Mach II and saying, “Next time.”  The kidnappers being called the “10 Rings,” an obvious reference to the Mandarin (which wasn’t so obvious to me) and the annoying Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division Agent Coulson.  There were probably others that I missed or didn’t mention.(stick around for the after credits scene.)

The effects were flawless.  The Iron Man’s different versions of the armor were an amalgam of CGI and models, but you couldn’t tell the difference.  The fight between the Iron Monger and Iron Man was epic.  What I really liked about the movie was that the story was accessible to everyone.  The writers didn’t come out of left field with some far fetched abstract villain, or pit the hero up against a natural disaster.  Here was a story about a flawed man deciding to change his life and make a difference in the world and a man who wanted to make a profit at any cost.  That’s as real as Democrats vs. Republicans. 

Do yourself a favor and go see this movie….Now.

Ok, its finally on the Web for everybody who didn’t see “I Am Legend”.   I’m having a hard time putting into words, how I felt about this trailer, because its so damn good.  If the trailer is any indication I think this may surpass the first film, which is pretty hard to do.   

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Previous posts about The Dark Knight.

http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2007/08/17/new-photos-from-dark-knight/
http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2007/12/12/new-joker-image/
http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2007/08/17/new-photos-from-dark-knight/

Not to step on Sweet Christmas’s turf, but I just had to post this solicitation artwork for Black Panther #34.  Can you guess who it is? (It’s actually pretty obvious.)

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This issue is a perfect starting point for a new reader.   Reed Richards and the gang get a visit from Namor, Dr Doom and the Black Panther from the future.  They  traveled through time to stop Idea #101 that Reed came up with during ”Civil War”.  The issue is light on action but Dwayne McDuffie’s snappy dialogue and superb plotting move the story along very nicely and the crisp and clean art work of Pelletier, Magyar and Quintana make the issue a winner.  Hopefully the subsequent issues of the story arc live up to the high standard set by this first issue.    If you click  the image you can read first six pages courtesy of Wizard.

Sweet Christmas posted the rumor that The Rock was in negotiations to play either Captain Marvel or Black Adam. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson went to the fans and asked who should be play: Captain Marvel or Black Adam? The fans have spoken, and The Rock listened. Overwhelmingly, fans voted 9-1 for Johnson to suit up as Teth-Adam, the wizard Shazam’s first choice as Earth’s protector. Johnson is going to suit up to play Black Adam, and mentions that the role is being reworked especially for him. Click the links below for the full story.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1573336/20071101/index.jhtml

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/11/01/breaking-the-rock-suits-up-as-black-adam-for-shazam/

The Rock is perfect for the role of the maniacal killer.

We don’t cover video games much here. But screenshots from the Iron Man Xbox game have appeared. I must say that if the game play looks this good, I might have to get an Xbox if the games not going to be available for PS3.