First Look: "Ultimates 3" #2

Holy moley! Everyone knows (well, that is everyone who READS this blog, yes all ONE of you, if at that) how excited I am that the next installment of The Ultimates is going to be released come December, with Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira at the helm. And here's hoping that The Ultimates Season 2 will be released in HC format before the first issue of Season 3 is shipped.

Looks like it's going to be a fabulous series though, with Magneto being the main villain and Spider-man joining the team! w00t w00t!


FIRST LOOK: ‘ULTIMATES 3’ #2
Is Spidey joining? Jeph Loeb dishes on what’s new with the Ultimate Avengers

By Matt Powell

Posted November 9, 2007 5:00 PM

Alien invaders, superpowered political extremists and vengeful Norse gods—remember when things were simple for the Ultimates?

“Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better,” promises writer Jeph Loeb of his and artist Joe Madureira’s Ultimates 3. Picking up roughly a year after the end of the stellar run by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch on Ultimates 2, Loeb’s not pulling any punches, beginning with the return of Magneto and a team tragedy right off the bat! “At the end of the first issue, something terrible happens, and the reason for it and the goals of the villains—who may or may not be the Brotherhood—is part of the mystery,” hints Loeb.

Saddling up alongside the Ultimates for the adventure is Ultimate Spider-Man (shown here in a first look of January’s issue #2), who Loeb says “is not welcome” by the team. But after seeing Joe Mad’s pencils, we couldn’t be happier!

WHAT’S NEW

BLACK PANTHER
“He’s sort of a grim and dark character who is going to prove his value to the team almost immediately,” Loeb says. “I think he’s always been at Cap’s level. His own particular history leads him to believe that he’s certainly at the strength and speed of somebody who is a super-soldier.”

VALKYRIE
Seemingly powerless in the past, the ex-Defender now “can stand toe-to-toe with Thor,” Loeb says. “How that happened is one of the many mysteries of the story.” And she does more than stand with Thor, Loeb hints: “She’s 19 and he’s immortal; they’re a very interesting pair.”

HAWKEYE
After his ordeal in Ultimates 2, the bull’s-eye on Hawkeye’s mask “may speak more to the idea that this is a man who doesn’t really care whether he lives or dies,” explains Loeb. “The Clint Barton part of him is gone, and the only person who remains is Hawkeye.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA
The Living Legend is the face of the Ultimates, but he’s still trying to find his place in our time. “I’m not even sure he feels comfortable [on the team],” reveals the writer. “He’s just trying to come to terms with who he is and what he’s doing with this team.”

IRON MAN
“Tony’s in pretty bad shape,” Loeb says of Iron Man, who’ll sport new armor. “There may be a sort of complication to what’s going on with the tumor in his head.” But Loeb offers a few encouraging words. “In many ways this is a tale of redemption for Tony,” he explains.

THOR
“He’s pretty much the badass of the team,” says Loeb. Unfazed by his teammates’ skepticism over his claims of godhood, Thor’s living large. “He’s a Viking; he likes to drink and enjoy women,” laughs Loeb. Look for things to develop between Thor and his Norse-warrior girlfriend, Valkyrie.

WASP
Janet Van Dyne’s the new team leader, and “that doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody has to be happy about that,” says Loeb, adding, “Because she’s been in a situation her whole life where men have told her what to do, this is an opportunity to overcompensate.”

Shedding light on "The Dark Knight"

Even though I'm not really a DC buff, preferring the Marvel universe by leaps and bounds, I still do enjoy all things comicky, even if it means dipping my feet into the waters of the DC Universe.

Don't get me wrong though, it's not like I completely abhor DC characters and the world they live in. I just PREFER Marvel in general. Heck, some of my favourite stories of all time (and comics I might add) are from DC! Preacher, Watchmen, Alan Moore's ABC line of books...though technically Preacher was a Vertigo title (a mature readers line of DC books), the ABC line was an off-shoot of Wildstorm, which had been bought over by DC, and Watchmen, while published by DC, didn't contain any of the notable characters from the regular DC universe.

But I DO have some favourite stuff published in the mainstream DC universe though. Titles like Alex Ross' Kingdom Come, Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis, all the big books drawn by Alex Ross like Superman: Peace on Earth et al, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween, Frank Miller's Batman: Year One...just to name a few. So once again, it's not like I eschew DC Comics altogether...I'm just more of a Marvel guy.

Anyway, the one thing that I'm ALWAYS excited about, regardless of which company or organisation is movies that are based on comic book properties! I just love comic book movies whether they're superb (X-Men 2, Hellboy, Batman Begins), mediocre (Daredevil, Punisher, Superman Returns) or just plain bad (Batman and Robin). And there are a whole bunch of comic book movies coming out in the next year...they did a great job on Batman Begins, so I'm anxiously waiting for The Dark Knight!

SHEDDING LIGHT ON ‘THE DARK KNIGHT’
Get the first word on Heath Ledger as the Joker, the return of Two-Face and the early footage broken down frame-by-frame

By Rickey Purdin

Posted October 1, 2007 9:50 AM

“If it was up to me, you wouldn’t see anything until the movie came out,” said “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan without any hint of apology. As he introduced a super-secret clip of the film to 1,200 screaming fans at Wizard World Chicago during an exclusive “Dark Knight” panel, Nolan made sure the audience knew just how special the viewing was. Considering Nolan went to great lengths to keep the film protected from prying, spoiler-hungry eyes (the production was once codenamed “Rory’s First Kiss” to lessen attention), it was clear Nolan wasn’t comfortable exhibiting an unfinished product.

“Please be kind,” added the anxious director as security guards crept into the aisles with infrared night-vision gear to catch attendees attempting to record the footage. “This is a rough, rough cut.”

What followed, despite only shooting for nearly four months in Chicago, was about two minutes of pure Bat-fan-gasm, filled with plenty of Heath Ledger’s Joker, tons of action and the world’s first glimpse at the film’s other villain—Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face.

The director has every right to be secretive. The sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” doesn’t open until July 18, 2008, after all. Plus, if it weren’t for Nolan’s fresh, practical, cinematic approach to the Bat-mythos, the world’s last memories of a big-screen Bruce Wayne would’ve been lost in a sea of Bat-nipples thanks to a sputtered-out ’90s franchise. He’s earned the right to dictate what people see and when.

But it’s time to lift that leathery cowl and explore the elements of “The Dark Knight” that will make it DC Comics’ biggest blockbuster yet.

JOKER’S WILD
Moments before “Batman Begins” ended, Jim Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) approached Christian Bale’s Batman about a new thug in town, and in every theater across the land, the flashing of the joker playing card sent movie-goers into unbridled fits of hoots and hollers.

“We found a way of looking at the character and saw what role he could play in the film,” explained Nolan. “The joker card at the end of the first film created the right kind of feeling. That was the hook that got us thinking about the next one.”

Nolan’s writing partner (and younger brother) Jonah pointed the director toward the Joker’s first two comic book stories, both of which took place in 1940’s Batman #1. “We’ve come around to something that’s eerily close to those first two appearances,” revealed the director.

In the issue, the Joker appears as a grinning mastermind who predicts his murderous crimes over the radio before meticulously carrying them out. Each cold-blooded, calculated killing ultimately ends with the victim’s face frozen into a solid, monstrous grin. If the film version follows closely, as the writers have said it will, expect plenty of chilling death scenes.

“Once we established ‘Batman Begins,’ it was one take on Batman,” explained screenwriter David S. Goyer. “We had to decide, ‘How does the Joker fit in this world?’”

Part of that problem was solved when actor Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”) joined the cast in July 2006. One of the premier actors of his generation, Ledger dove into the role with an understanding of what he didn’t want to convey in the film.

“I’m not going for the same thing [Jack Nicholson] went for,” Ledger said in interviews. “That would be stupid. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing nitty-gritty handheld realism. I love what [Nicholson] did, and that is part of why I want to do that role. But it would obviously be murder if I tried to imitate what he did.”

“What Heath is doing,” Oldman triumphantly stated in Chicago, searching for the right words to finish his thought, “…he’s going to knock everyone out of the park.”

Oldman’s words came true moments later during the screened footage. Flashing between scenes of the Joker robbing a bank and taking a Batman-administered body-slam in a police station, the teaser hit its Joker crescendo when a tired, emotionless Joker steadily opened machine gun fire on Gotham. Empty, deranged and angry, this was the Joker the audience was waiting for, and their wall-shaking screams confirmed it.

But it was the unexpected cameo of another villain that brought down the house.

TWO-FACE RETURNS
In “Batman Begins,” mob kingpin Carmine Falcone rules Gotham’s underground. When good guy District Attorney Carl Banks sticks his nose in Falcone’s business, he finds himself on the receiving end of a gangland shooting. Fast-forward shortly afterwards and Harvey Dent arrives on the scene.

“Dark Knight” promotional art features Dent running for DA, and like his comic counterpart, he wins the election. Vowing to clean up the city’s rampant crime rate, Dent takes a no-nonsense, Eliot Ness stance and mows down the street scum at the court level behind Lt. Gordon’s growing arrest record. Of course, that justice crusade comes with a price.

While the exact details leading up to Dent’s disfigurement haven’t been made public, comic fans can tell you Dent suffered acid burns over half his face during a court case. The attack sent Dent into a psychotic fit, resulting in the birth of the unhinged Two-Face. As soon as Eckhart was announced as Dent in February 2007, fans wondered if the actor might pull double duty as Two-Face, too. The footage in Chicago, along with comments made by Eckhart in interviews, put those questions to bed.

In the final moments of the clip, as explosions and sightings of the Joker resonated in the brains of the audience, a half-dollar spins wildly onto a barroom table. Two-Face plops down in a bar stool on screen with his back to the camera.

A bartender timidly pours a shot while staring up at Two-Face, crimson-maroon scar tissue running down the left side of the villain’s neck below slightly discolored hair. “Dent?” the jarred man screams in disbelief. “I thought you were dead!”

Then Two-Face speaks for the first time, saying only one word with a gravel-filled but glib voice: “Half.”

“Batman is a complex character, and Two-Face comes a little bit from the same world,” Eckhart explained in interviews. “I’m looking for the tension between the two, the similarities between the two. I want to find what’s similar to Batman and then find what’s opposite to him.”

BAT-PLOT
The title “The Dark Knight” provides a bigger clue to the movie’s plot than you might think. Just like “Batman Begins” explored the beginnings of Batman, “Dark Knight” looks to explore the Caped Crusader’s full-on immersion into protecting Gotham from its own shadows.

“‘Batman Begins’ was an origin story, and the important thing was to move the story forward,” described Nolan of the first film’s themes. “In [‘Dark Knight’], the detective [elements] will help move the story along.”

Reports indicate “Dark Knight” takes place shortly after the end of “Batman Begins” with Gordon still trying to clean up the Gotham streets after his promotion to lieutenant, Bruce Wayne rebuilding his family home with trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Batman refining his crimefighting methods when new baddies hit town.

After Bats took down Falcone in the last film, a criminal power vacuum sucks countless thugs and gangsters into Gotham with plans to control the city. This, of course, summons plenty of the eccentric villains Gotham is known for, and as more and more fill the streets, Batman, Gordon and Dent scramble to keep the peace. The influx of new bad guys also pushes Bats to develop new gadgets, including a streamlined bodysuit complete with projectile glove blades and a “Batpod” motorbike packing grappling hooks, cannons and machine guns.

Meanwhile, according to the teaser trailers, the lower criminals start to side with a single leader in desperation as the mobsters begin picking each other off. In the clip, Bruce Wayne and Alfred discuss the crime wave before Alfred lays the situation out on the line.

“You hammered them, and in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand,” he says, referring to the Joker. “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

The Chicago footage echoed that sentiment as scenes of Gotham cars and buildings literally on fire littered the clip, proving the power struggle mutates into a gang war at one point. As for Joker plot specifics, Ledger points to one comic in particular.

“The Killing Joke was the one that was handed to me,” admitted the actor in interviews. “I guess that book explains a little bit of where [the Joker’s] from, but not too much.”

The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore with art by Brian Bolland, explores the origins of the man who would become the Joker—a loser comedian caught up in a crime and then accidentally disfigured after his wife and baby die in an unconnected mishap. And even if the details are different, a similar, sympathetic glimpse into the slow, tortured birth of the Joker may be present in “Dark Knight.”

LAW AND LOVE
Aside from the fact that “Dark Knight” marks the first time a Batman film hasn’t featured the hero’s name in the title, it’s also the first film to feature a returning love interest for the character—kinda.

In “Batman Begins,” Katie Holmes played Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Rachel Dawes, who becomes Gotham’s assistant DA. Later in the film, Dawes and Wayne begin sharing a slim romantic link after she discovers he’s Batman.

In January 2007, reports of Holmes leaving the cast surfaced. Her reps revealed the actress had joined the cast of “Mad Money,” a buddy film with Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton with a conflicting shooting schedule that would keep her from appearing in both films. In March 2007, Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Stranger Than Fiction”) was announced as her replacement.

“I’m not thinking of it as a role that anyone’s played before,” related Gyllenhaal to sources. “I’m not walking into Katie Holmes’ performance. I’m thinking of it as an opportunity to play somebody who’s alive and smart. Chris asked me to do this because he wanted me, not because he wants some generic lady in a dress.

“Doing Batman has shocked me at every turn,” noted the actress. “When I started, I thought, ‘Well, it’s a huge movie, I’ll just do my best to put what I can into it.’ But, in fact, they’ve been really hungry for my ideas.”

In “Dark Knight,” expect Dawes and Dent to spend some quality time together as Dent takes over the DA’s office. A love triangle has even been hinted at involving Wayne, and the Chicago clip teased a freaky scene with the Joker holding a knife to Dawes’ shivering neck as he slowly spins her around a room.

But these aren’t the only new players in Gotham.

BAT-CAMEOS
Everyone knows about the major villains plowing through “Dark Knight,” but what about the surprising stars flying under the radar?

For starters, Eric Roberts, the Oscar-nominated actor who appeared in five episodes of NBC’s “Heroes” last season, plays Salvatore Maroni, a rising mob boss. In the comics, Maroni is responsible for scarring Harvey Dent’s face with acid, creating Dent’s Two-Face persona.

“Spawn” star Michael Jai White beat out hulking rapper David Banner among others for the role of Gamble, a new mobster who bumps heads with Maroni and other mob elements.

But not just ordinary underworld figures are set to appear. Early spy reports from the “Dark Knight” set in downtown Chicago surmised that the Scarecrow would pop up in the film. Amateur video caught a man in a brown hood and suit (the costume worn by actor Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow in the first film) backed by a gang and arguing with another group of people during a scene in a parking garage. The report jells with the plot, as it would make sense for Scarecrow to make a play for the Gotham underworld.

Murphy wouldn’t comment when approached about the report, but did tell sources just after “Batman Begins” bowed that he was signed to do more than one Bat-film. He’s not the only speculated super-cameo, though.

Anthony Michael Hall (“The Dead Zone”) told sources in May 2007 he’d also joined the cast, but couldn’t specify his role.

“I signed a confidentiality agreement, and I can’t say which part I’m playing because it affects the story,” said the actor. “I can’t give away the suspense. It’s a $200 million surprise, and I don’t want to be the guy to ruin it.”

Online gossip pegged Hall’s expensive secret as the Riddler, a Batman foe obsessed with puzzles. Other reports indicate Hall plays a Gotham journalist obsessed with Bruce Wayne. Whatever the secret is, it’s not a stretch to imagine comic book Easter eggs hidden all over the film. After Arkham Asylum, home to many Gotham villains, was partially destroyed in “Batman Begins,” don’t be surprised to see more Bat-rogues lining up for a slice of the crime spree pie in “Dark Knight” or even a possible third movie.

“The script leaves room for a very interesting follow-up,” Bale admitted to sources. “I think we could take it somewhere else.”

As long as the secretive Nolan’s onboard, expect that somewhere else to be the top of the box-office charts.


The thing I'm looking forward to the most about the movie? Seeing Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. He just looks perfect and was born to play the charismatic district attorney who will eventually become one of Batman's greatest nemesis: Two-Face.

Loeb, McGuinness hulk out

Believe it or not, Planet Hulk was just the first part of a trilogy of an epic Hulk saga that Marvel had planned!

Planet Hulk was A New Hope, World War Hulk is The Empire Strikes Back, and the next part of the epic arc will no doubt rock as hard as the previous two arcs.

And who better than the creative team behind Superman/Batman to tell the stories of the Hulk post-WWH?

Well...Greg Pak, I suppose. A little bit disappointed that he's not the one ending the trilogy, since he WAS the guy who created the whole Planet Hulk and World War Hulk storylines. Ah well.


LOEB, MCGUINNESS HULK OUT
The writer and artist will have fans seeing red (and green) as they help Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan conclude the epic arc that began with ‘Planet Hulk’

By Kevin Mahadeo

Posted September 10, 2007 9:05 PM

He’s mean, he may or may not still be green, but he definitely remains the Marvel U.’s biggest smashing machine!

From being blasted into space by his so-called friends to experiencing yet another life-mate dying tragically in his arms, it’s no wonder why the Hulk has been seeing red this past year as he smashed and bashed his way from the battle planet of Sakaar in “Planet Hulk” through Earth’s mightiest heroes in “World War Hulk.” With so much already going on, retailers were rocked out of their seats at Baltimore Comic-Con when Marvel announced longtime collaborators Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness would be pulling up a chair to the Hulk’s creative green table—where the team of Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan will also be sitting.

“The Hulk mythos is busting out all over,” reveals Pak. “We have two giant stories that require two giant creative teams.”

Pak also reveals that those “giant stories” constitute the final part of the super-secret Hulk trilogy planned since the conception of “Planet Hulk” in 2006. And what better way to end the trilogy than to bring back the artist who first breathed life into it?

“I thought [Carlo] couldn’t top his pencils with the last couple issues of ‘Planet Hulk,’ but he keeps getting better with every issue,” Pak enthuses. “He’s already done a few covers and designs for the new project, and they’re out of this world.”

Loeb and McGuinness collaborated on a number of works previously, including stints on Action Comics and Superman/Batman for DC. Both Loeb and McGuinness have wanted to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk since returning to Marvel, says Hulk editor Mark Paniccia. And after the events of World War Hulk, he says, “It’s go time!”

“They’re bringing an incredible amount of enthusiasm and inspiration to the project,” says Paniccia. “You’ll see in [their] first issue that they’re going in full throttle.”

As if that announcement weren’t enough, minds were nearly blown with the release of an image “penciled by the electrifying Ed McGuinness, inked by dazzling Dexter Vines and colored by Jazzy Jason Keith,” featuring an extremely ticked-off half-red/half-green Hulk!

“It is pretty mysterious, isn’t it?” jokes Pak.

Paniccia teases it could be symbolic, it could be two characters, or it could be one character. “Maybe environmentally friendly Hulk and artificial cherry sweetener Hulk?” Pak jokes. “Or maybe it’s a Valentine Day’s story—jealous Hulk and romantic comedy Hulk?”

However, that story may still be a way off—early 2008, according to Paniccia and Pak. Before then, Pak will be co-writing an arc on Incredible with the “supercool” Fred Van Lente of Super-Villain Team-Up fame beginning with issue #112. Marvel is keeping information on this arc under gamma-irradiated lock and key, but Paniccia reveals that while the action will reach high-intensity levels, it all boils down to a mystery.

“There are things going on that just aren’t adding up for our cast. By issue #4 or #5, there will be some monstrous reveals.”

LOEB, MCGUINNESS HULK OUT
The writer and artist will have fans seeing red (and green) as they help Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan conclude the epic arc that began with ‘Planet Hulk’

By Kevin Mahadeo

Posted September 10, 2007 9:05 PM