Posts Tagged ‘ Ant-Man ’

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The reason for the girly noise was, of course, the echo of this:

Like father, like daughter!

Note to self: It doesn’t matter whether Ant-Man is Hank Pym, Scott Lang or Eric O’Grady – he’s always cool.

Y’know why?

He can get really small and talk to ants. And with those awesome powers, he goes and takes on planet-threatening menaces (unless he’s Eric, in which case he hides in women’s showers and bets on ant races but to each their own).

How great is that?

…even if he is completely irredeemable.

Sweet!

Occasionally I drift off into a little world of my own and start thinking about comic characters that I’d like to take to film. As a lot of the good Marvel ones are already there, this tends to be DC-skewed. Plus, the lists tends to change around pretty regularly.

Anyway, in lieu of a real post, here’s today’s top ten:

10. Guy Gardner – yes, there’s the kick-ass CGI ring powers, but that’s not the draw; how often do you get a lead character who’s a complete ass? I love the Beau Smith-era Guy and those couple of issues he spent completely without powers and that’s the time I’d focus on. I’m willing to admit he might work better as a back up character in #4 ‘s movie, though…

9. The Atom (Ray Palmer) – I’m willing to admit that it’s probably as a result of reading Power of the Atom recently, but I can’t help but think a movie about a shrinking hero would be cool. The villain, of course, would have to be Chronos.

8. Stargirl – she’s a teenage girl with a pet robot (kinda) and a hi-tech rod trying to live up to a legacy she didn’t know she had. Think Buffy and iVeronica Mars and you can see where I’m heading with this.

7. Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) – #10+#9= no brainer!

6. She-Hulk – you have built in name recognition, a touch of legal drama and killer super-heroics. Pitch it as the Hulk meets Ally McBeal. What’s not to like?

5. Nick Fury – David Hasselhoff’s version doesn’t count. I’m not talking about the Sam Jackson-alike Ultimate version either, or the MAX’d out Ennis version. I’m talking Sgt Fury, WWII troop leader who takes the assignments nobody else can. A big war drama on a scale not seen since Saving Private Ryan - only with killer Nazi robot.. End with him losing his eye and taking control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and you’ve got a set-up for a 1950s period-spy drama. How great is that?

No, no, no, no, no!

4. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) – a fearless fighter pilot inherits an alien ring, goes crazy and has to reclaim his status as protector the universe that he almost destroyed? That’s a trilogy right there! Star Wars by way of Top Gun and Indiana Jones. Too bad Harrison Ford’s too old for the role…

3. Daughters of the Dragon – Colleen and Misty are made for movies. Hell, they have their origins in the movies of the 1970s, so how could this fail? Drop the bionic arm and play it as this generation’s Thelma and Louise as bounty hunters tracking down supervillains, cast a couple of bombshells who can act and you’re made.

2. Heroes for Hire – see #3. Because kung-fu+blaxpoitation flicks=beyond cool. Set this one in the 70s, tie both Luke Cage’s origins and Iron Fist’s business into Bushmaster though and I’d be all over this. I hear that Luke Cage is possibly in development, and there’s been rumors of Iron Fist for years but stick these guys together – dynamite.

1. Birds of Prey – forget the TV series. Spin this out of the new Batman franchise, throw enough money in for cameos from Christian Bale and Gary Oldman and it’s a done deal. You’ve got Oracle, Huntress and a non-screaming Black Canary as the leads going after the Joker following his escape from Arkham. He gets involved with the mob that killed Huntress’ family to bring her into the story, and Canary is Barbara Gordon’s friend and a part-time Bat-sanctioned vigilante. Sold, sold, sold!

You may (or may not) know me.

If you do know me – even just a little – chances are that you’ll know I write. Not professionally, outside of reports for my job, but because I enjoy it and because I keep telling myself one day I’ll do something with it.

Recently I sat down and drew up a list of characters that I’d like to take a crack at if the opportunity presented itself. Not surprisingly, many proved to be Marvel, and many proved to be B and C listers. And a couple of Ds. In lieu of a real post, thought I’d share just a couple of ideas…

Hank Pym – Pym’s a polarizing character; a lot of people (including some writers) can’t get past the backhander he gave Jan years ago and it’s basically become his defining attribute over the past ten years, even moreso than when it actually happened.

But here’s the thing – this is a guy who’s made mistake after mistake after mistake – Ultron, Yellowjacket, Egghead…he’s almost self-destructive in the path he takes. Now take that and add in his identity issues, his genius, the sci-fi aspects to the character (his origin is essentially a twist on The Incredible Shrinking Man), his powers, his communication with insects, Kosmos – and you’ve got a character that’s got legs if handled properly.

Have him separated from the MU for a while. Give him a purpose, a direction, a goal and keep him out of the way of too many of his regular support characters. Have him take a starring role in his own 4-issue mini-series, instead of a back-up role in The Irredeemable Ant-Man (excellent book, by the way), or being the character that’s brought in when an unstable scientific type is needed. Define the character without relying on other character’s reaction to him; that’s the ticket.

Hey, you can even go darker with him. Let him explore the anger inside if needs be, as long as he comes to terms with it – preferably without the aid of a magic crystal…

Sub-Mariner - I love Namor as a character. He’s regal, he’s an ass, and he has dominion over 70% of the Earth. Forget Black Panther, this is a monarch I want to read about. He has a pretty good support cast and villains and ties – in one way or another – to almost every character in the MU that you can think of through either the FF, the Avengers, the Defenders or the Invaders. Once again, what’s needed is a hook.

He’s been played as a monarch and he’s been played as an exile – but he hasn’t been played as an icon. Have him be worshipped by his people, have them be the family that he’s lost (Dorma, Namorita – who knows what will happen to Namora now she’s back?) – and then put him in an impossible situation.

Have him discover that if he continues down the road he’s on, he’ll be the end of his people’s way of life. Have him get comfortable – finally – with who and what he is, then yank the carpet out from under him. Give the man a prophecy to fulfill that puts him at odds with the rest of the MU. Let him be facing the destruction of his people within his lifetime – and it’s all his fault.

Just some thoughts for openers.

Well, maybe not quite that good, but pretty damn close.

Last week’s books may well have constituted one of the best single weeks that I can remember, with hardly a mis-step amongst them.

Supergirl #12 finally had someone pointing out to Kara what a whiny little cow she’s being. The fact that that person was newcomer Terra (soon to be starring in her own mini courtesy of this issue’s guest creative team of Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner) just added to the fun – this is someone greener than Kara, and she still put her in her place. Great stuff.

Justice Society of America #1 is being lauded all over the place, and rightly so. As I posted over on Kalinara’s blog:

Pros: Maxine being a gushing fangirl and yet obviously having a lot more depth (her depression, having no friends…she’s coming across a little too healthy)

: Jessie and Rick and Jessie’s new costume

amage being a bitter bad-ass

:Ted and Alan and Jay being Ted and Alan and Jay

: Mr America’s look and reaction to his, er, tragedies

: Starman not being your prototypical hero – and being aware that he’s losing it

: Power Girl’s reaction to Maxine

:Courtney being…well, Courtney

:Coming this year in JSA!

Cons: Not a goddamn thing. Sooo much better than the JLA relaunch that it’s not funny.

52 #31 upped the ante with the death of Captain Comet and a look at new villainess Lady Styx and her cubes of doom (okay, they’re not called that but damned if that’s not what they are) who eats Green Lantern rings as snacks. Seriously. Looks like things aren’t going to be easy for the space-faring heroes… And the ‘who is Supernova’ takes a giant leap forward. I’m going to guess that he is indeed Booster Gold, and the Booster who died previously was in fact Daniel Carter (in fact I’ll go so far as to say that Daniel is the Booster we’ve seen since 52 #1…

Detective #826 had a note-perfect Joker taking Robin on a joyride with Batman only making a brief appearance in the best single issue of Paul Dini’s run yet.

Manhunter #26 returned in grand style in an extremely packed issue. My only concern is that it may have been a bit too packed for the new readers it was aiming for. Even so,looking good…

And Nightwing #127 continued to remind me that Wolfman and Jurgens actually get this character.

Elsewhere, Spider-Man: Reign kicked off in grand style with a Peter Parker that I felt genuinely sorry for – I’m not sure what exactly happened to MJ all those years before but I think that it’s what pushed Peter into retirement. It captured Peter – and the city’s – desperation in a really effective way. Comparisons are already being drawn to The Dark Knight Returns and it’s not hard to see why.

Beyond #6 sent off one of my favorite new characters in grand style with a promise that despite appearances this wasn’t the end, so that’s good to know. One of the most fun minis this year…

…a title it needs to fight over with Agents of Atlas #5 which focused on the origin of Venus and showed just what Namora can do when she lets rip, not to mention the fact that she has slightly icky feelings for a certain royal cousin of hers!

In another two other great minis, Doc Strange proved what a bad ass he can be (Dr Strange: The Oath #3), while the new White Tiger still hasn’t realised that the current DD is actually her uncle and former babysitter, Danny Rand (White Tiger #2).

In Uncanny X-Men #481, new boy Korus hooked up with Rachel while Darwin mashed some face as he tried to save Xavier from a particularly nasty looking torture machine.

And Eric proved himself to be a tool not once (getting it on with his dead best friend’s girlfriend on said best friend’s grave), not twice (hanging out after a lousy date waiting for sex) but three times (moving into said date’s apartment while ant-sized and cheerfully watching her shower). Yep, the Irredeemable Ant-Man is starting to live up to his moniker in #3 of his book!

On another planet, Incredible Hulk #101 gave even more hints as to who’s going to be the main target of the green behemoth’s rage when he gets home (hint: he wears red and gold) even as the big guy made some more unlikely allies in his war against the Red King.

Finally, in a galaxy far, far away, Luke and Tank seem to have reached the end – finally – of their friendship in the long-delayed Star Wars Rebellion #5.

Not a bum note in the lot!