Posts Tagged ‘ Iron Man ’

Over the course of SDCC, Marvel has been revealing pre-production art of the Avengers – and they fit together…

(Click to make a bit larger)

Black Widow, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Agent Coulson all look pretty damn good here – and honestly, I’m getting a little excited by next year’s movie especially after the post-credits bit on Captain America…

Oh, and if the Skrulls are in the movie as rumored, I’d say the chances of Coulson being one are pretty damn high, no?

Gene Colan has passed away, aged 84.

Obviously, I didn’t know the man personally but he was one hell of a comic artist – and his covers especially could be incredibly dynamic.

Thoughts with his family and friends.

Here’s a gallery of 50 of Colan covers that I’m a fan of (although I didn’t include any of his Western stuff here)

Marvel have released the latest ad in their ‘fear’ campaign ahead of their big announcement – and this time it’s Iron Man in the spotlight:

I’ve managed to access some exclusive earlier attempts at this ad and present them below for historic import!

There’s the pensive one…

The scrappy one…

And my personal favorite, the say-what-we-mean one…

Vulture is reporting that Jon Favreau will not be directing Iron Man 3:

It’s unclear whether the impasse was financial or creative or both. One informed source hears that he was frustrated with Marvel’s urge to stuff more of their in-house heroes into the next film in the wake of The Avengers. In a recent interview with MTV News, Favreau explained that based on his conversations with Marvel Studios executives, he had no clarity as to what a third Iron Man film would even be about. “In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Avengers,” said Favreau at the time, “This whole world … I have no idea what it is. I don’t think they do either, from conversations I’ve had with those guys.”

Favreau was widely credited with making the first Iron Man the success it was and lobbying hard for Robert Downey Jr as the lead. It was rumored that he wouldn’t return for Iron Man 2 – which suffered somewhat from trying to set up the rest of the Marvel U Movies – but eventually he reached an agreement with the studio.

Given Favreau’s comments last week and Marvel Studios’ tendency to be on the conservative side, cash-wise, I can’t say this is too much of a surprise – but I do think it’s a big loss for the franchise. We’ll have to wait and see if his replacement can fill his shoes. What does concern me slightly is this snippet from the article:

In fact, one Hollywood player familiar with Marvel’s playbook theorizes that the company had been pushing a confusing and packed vision of the third film as a tactic to provoke Favreau into leaving the project.

‘Confusing and packed’? Because it was such a good idea to foist Venom on Sam Raimi for Spider-Man 3?

But, er, Favreau will be back as Happy Hogan, right?

Because who else will carry Tony’s armor around?

I mean, Booster Gold‘s chalkboards?

Pfft.

Like Marvel would lift something like that wholesale and plunk it into their books…

…oh.

According to CBR the above page is from Avengers #5, so it looks like I’m wrong…

Anyway, let’s have a little breakdown shall we?

Going from left to right along the timeline…

• Siege

– Well, we know what that is, I guess. It seems to be quite a way before the next events, at least one of which takes place prior to it. Probably an aspect of time being broken in the arc the panel appears in. Or an editorial slip.

• Captain America Reborn – Again, aside from placement no surprise here. There’s a little side note asking ‘What did Cap see???’ referring to his vision at the end of the series, which bore some resemblance to the War of the Worlds-esque (or Tripods-esque, depending on your frame of reference) alien invasion from Killraven‘s alternate future.

• Nine Worlds in Disarray -this presumably links into Matt Fraction’s upcoming Thor run, which will apparently deal with the nine worlds of Norse mythology, of which Asgard is only one. Again, the timeline appears slightly skew-wiff as this presumably takes place before the next notation…EDIT: Apparently Avengers Prime concerns the Nine Worlds being in disarray – thanks, Kunstgriff!

• The Heroic Age Begins! – I guess there’s not much mystery there.

• Three! – a reference to the upcoming Fantastic Four arc which apparently promises the death of one of the core characters (because that’s never happened before).

• Hope Returns!? – presumably referring to the recent Second Coming in the X-Men books featuring the return of Hope from the future.

• There’s a dotted line leading down to the next comment that I can’t quite make out “Spider on the …” Horizon? Horror? Whatever it is, it seems to begin with HO and end with ON. Horton? I’m guessing this is Spider-Man related…

• Man Without Fear – no real secret here, either, as Black Panther is becoming the new Man without Fear and taking over Daredevil’s book.

• Throwbacks! - Okay. I have no idea what this refers to. Any ideas?

• Chaos! – The upcoming Chaos War event, of course.

Next slide, please…

• EDIT: There’s a bunch of equations including the words ‘Similar Form‘ and ending in ‘Paired‘. Not sure what this could refer to but open to suggestions!

• Five Lights – A not-so subtle reference to the current Five Lights arc in Uncanny X-Men leading to Generation Hope.

• Who is Worthy? – 9,9,9, – these linked comments outside of the timeline presumably refer again to Thor‘s nine worlds and perhaps an indication that someone else is going to try hefting mjolonir for a while – or that Thor himself may not be worthy? We’ll see.

• EDIT: Crossed out below this is something else I can’t make out: What Wouldn’t Do ?????? Any suggestions?
  Back on the timeline…
  • What is Where Asgard Should Be? – Thor again. A valid question; if Asgard’s in Oklahoma, what’s occupying it’s old position at the end of the rainbow bridge?
  • Master of Kung Fu – Shang-Chi’s making a comeback in Shadowland, and there’s a new Heroes for Hire series on the horizon – so maybe he’ll have a part in that? Or will there be a new Master of Kung-Fu? Replacement heroes are all the rage, you know.
  • Nova Antiquus – perhaps an earlier bearer of the Novaforce will be making an appearance wherever Nova himself ends up?
  • Academy Traitor! – I’m guessing there’s a traitor in Avengers Academy?
  • Return of the King – There’s a few people this could refer to; Magneto has been referred to as a king a few times in the past; the Black Panther’s in exile of some sort from his own country; the Kingpin perhaps? Or it could (hopefully) be the return of Black Bolt who died at the end of War of Kings. In any case there appears to be a King. And he appears to be returning.

  Off to the side of the timeline -

  • EDIT: The one I couldn’t quite make out earlier is The Drumm of Revenge – presumably pointing towards a Dr Voodoo (Jericho Drumm) story – or perhaps his dead brother? Either war I’d put money on this happening in New Avengers.

  And back on the timeline again –

  • Night Falls – Well that’s not ominous at all. A sign that something bad is coming? Perhaps it’s horror-related somehow? Who knows.
  • Iron Lad Returns – Looks like everyone’s favorite young Kang/Young Avenger is on his way back through the timestream somehow, presumably in the the Children’s Crusade mini.
  • All Hope Lies in Doom! – Well, when doesn’t it? Sounds like Doctor Doom is going to be getting some pagetime, maybe in the Fantastic Four, maybe in an Avengers book – but somewhere.
  • Schizm! – Sounds like there’s going to be a split somewhere along the line. Could be in a team, could be in reality, hell, could be anywhere. Or it could be some new character causing trouble – but my money’s on the first option. I think there’s going to be a falling out between characters somewhere again.
  • Stark Resilient – I’m guessing that’s a reference to the current Invincible Iron Man arc of the same name, in which case that book is ahead of the curve.
  • Where is Wanda? – Probably the end of the current Avengers: The Children’s Crusade mini series starring the Young Avengers that’s running right now.
  • Galactus Seed – That just sounds…wrong. More likely to be another arc in Hickman’s Fantastic Four than about Galacta, which is a shame.
  • ST….365NRATS – I have no clue. As long as it’s not Marvel’s answer to Lab Rats.
  • Fear without Man – I suspect that this will be an arc either following Daredevil Reborn (or perhaps that series itself) or simply an arc in the Black Panther’s run.
  • What’s in the Rings?!?! – Despite the earlier Return of the King reference, I guess this isn’t about bringing Gandalf and co to the MU. Instead, I think we’ll see the Mandarin’s rings being explored somewhat – mainly because I can’t think of any other rings of note in the MU.
  • Steve’s Vision! – Sounds like that vision we were talking about earlier is going to come to pass relatively soon.
  • Ultron War – Is Hank Pym’s greatest mistake coming back? Again? Honestly in light of the Ultron Imperative and Annihilation Conquest, any more Ultron stories seem redundant.
  • Yesterday’s X-Men – Possibly referring to that teaser of dead X-Men that popped up recently? Or something else? It’s off to the side of the main timeline so it may not take place around this time.
  • Born To Burn – Given that I think Johnny Storm will be the missing FF member at the end of ‘Three’, I would guess that this would be his return to the fold.
  • We Are Here – The point at which Avengers #5 takes place.
  • Kang’s Forces – I think this refers to a big ol’ timewar that’s going on in the Avengers book, which I’m getting in trades, and probably not the big Kang War we had at the end of Kurt Busiek’s run. Or, sadly, The Crossing (which I’m expecting to get the big Omnibus treatment any day now…).
  • Scorched Earth? – Sometimes the only way to win is to destroy what you’re fighting for. Whether a reference to the Kang thing, the Killraven thing, or something else I don’t know. EDIT: Apparently Jeff Parker’s first storyline in (Red) Hulk, starting with this week’s #25 is called – wait for it – ‘Scorched Earth’, named for the Intelligencia’s plan. Safe bet that this refers to that.
  • 3PION - Well, not a ‘P’ but a Punisher skull symbol. Probably not the return of Lynn Varley and the other Punisher stand-ins, sadly. EDIT: I’ve read that this could be deciphered as 3SkullION or Triskelion – which would be the Ultimate Avenger’s HQ over in the Ultimate Marvel U. Is there a crossover in the offing?
  • INFINITE FUTURES!! Again, I suspect this has to do with the future being hazy after the Kang thing wraps up. Or that Marvel hasn’t had it’s 2012 editorial retreats yet.

  Lots to clear up here, and lots of hints.

  But Booster Gold still did it first!

  Continue Reading »

From the stage at SDCC2010 – the cast of the Avengers movie – (L-R) Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Joss Whedon (Director), Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios).

Do I have my concerns about this? A few.

But right now?

I’m just pretty damn excited about it.

Via

With the concept art for Thor and Captain America hitting the internet the past few days, I figured it was time to flex my not-so-mighty photoshopPixlr skills and mash up a few images…

And you know what? As thrown together as it is, I kind of like it.

Released just in time for a certain movie, the Iron Man Animated Complete Series collects the two season series that ran 1994-1996 as part of the Marvel Action Hour (alongside the Fantastic Four) – but the two seasons are so different that it may as well be two different shows.

In the first season, Iron Man – accompanied by War Machine and a barely-developed Force Works team (consisting of Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye and the Century) battles the Mandarin and his minions (which include M.O.D.O.K. occasionally disguised in a baby carriage) in pretty much self contained episodes. The animation and simplicity of the stories could have been made ten years earlier and are about on a par with He-Man.

In fact the first season could almost be recycled He-Man scripts with the names changed; they’re really that simplistic and dated.

Marvel Entertainment must have realized that they were on to a loser, because in the second season everything changes.

The animation improves, most of Force Works leaves, storylines are sometimes stretched out over multiple episodes, stories are cribbed from the comics (such as the Dragon Seeds storyline), the Mandarin’s presence is dramatically reduced, Iron Man gets new armor, Tony Stark gets a mullet and the show gets a snazzy new title sequence.

It feels like a completely different show – and one that can stand next to the Spider-Man, X-Men and Hulk cartoons of the day (and when do we get the Spidey and Hulk series on DVD?). For these episodes alone, the boxset is worth a look.

Plus, you get Fin Fang Foom. Can’t go wrong with that.

Iron Man: The Animated Series was provided free for review and is available from Amazon here.

May 4th marks the DVD releases of Iron Man: The Complete Animated Series and X-Men: Volume 5.

IRON MAN

The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series 3-Disc DVD Set
Studio:Buena Vista Home Entertainment

From Stan Lee comes Marvel’s complete 1994 animated television series, Iron Man. Experience every thrilling moment – from the very first episode, to the final climactic battle – in this 3-disc collector’s edition. Witness the action-packed adventure from the very beginning as billionaire inventor Tony Stark dons his invincible suit of iron to battle the villainous Mandarin and the power of his ten deadly rings.

With fellow super heroes Nick Fury, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Spider Woman and Hawkeye at his side, Iron Man faces off against a band of evil foes, including Whiplash…and confronts his own demons, as well.

Go behind the armor and get to know the man under the powered suit. This complete Iron Man collection is a must-have for fans of all ages !

“Iron Man” stars voice talent Robert Hays (Superhero Movie), John Reilly (TV’s “General Hospital: Night Shift”), Jennifer Hale (Ariel’s Beginning – Voice) and is executive produced by Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The Ultimate Avengers II), Avi Arad (Spider-Man 4, Fantastic Four, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Larry Leiber (Iron Man, Iron Man 2).

EPISODE LIST:

Disc 1:

1. And The Sea Shall Give Up It’s Dead
2. Rejoice! I Am Ultimo Thy Deliverer
3. Data In – Chaos Out
4. Silence My Companion, Death My Destination
5. The Grim Reaper Wears A Teflon Coat
6. Enemy Within, Enemy Without
7. Origin Of The Mandarin
8. Defection Of The Hawkeye

Disc 2:
9. Iron Man To The Second Power (Part 1)
10. Iron Man To The Second Power (Part 2)
11. Origin Of Iron Man (Part 1)
12. Origin Of Iron Man (Part 2)
13. Wedding Of Iron Man!
14. The Beast Within
15. Fire And Rain
16. Cell Of Iron
17. Not Far From The Tree

Disc 3:
18. Beauty Knows No Pain
19. On The Inside
20. Distant Boundaries
21. The Armor Wars (Part 1)
22. The Armor Wars (Part 2)
23. Hulkbuster
24. Empowered
25. Hands Of The Mandarin (Part 1)
26. Hands Of The Mandarin (Part 2)

STREET DATE: May 4, 2010

Suggested retail price: $29.99 US; $35.99 Canada

Rated: TV – Y7
Run time: 572 minutes
DVD aspect ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Spanish and French Language
Tracks & Subtitles
© MARVEL, IRON-MAN and all related characters and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries and are used with permission.
© 2010 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.

I always enjoyed the Iron Man series (which aired, in the UK at least, partnered with the Fantastic Four animated series of the same time), featuring as it did Force Works (because it was the nineties, dammit – and force worked!), even if the animation was a little below what was on elsewhere on TV at the time.

For your viewing edification, some clips from the Iron Man series behind the jump…

Also issued the same day is the final volume of the 90s X-Men series, this time out featuring the Phalanx Covenant episodes and Captain America, amongst others.

This series was as close as I think we’ll ever get to having the comic storylines on screen – and it was a Saturday morning must see for me while I was at university. Good stuff!

X-MEN: Volume 5 – 2-Disc DVD

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION WITH THE FINAL VOLUME !

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

The original tales of Marvel comic books come to life in Volume 5 of the X-men collection.

Relive the action of the popular animated series in this collectible compilation of the X-men adventures. The X-men must turn to their arch-nemesis, Magneto, in an effort to save the life of Professor Xavier! Watch the action unfold in the final episode, “Graduation Day, and don’t miss a moment of X-men excitement in this 2-disc set, complete with 14 riveting episodes. Complete your X-men collection with this must-own final installment of this great animated series.

X-men stars voice talents Iona Morris (Law and Order, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, The Wayans Bros), Lenore Zann (Law and Order, Dragon Tales) and Alison Seasly-Smith (Honey, Degrassi: The Next Generation, M.V.P: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives) and is executive produced by Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The Ultimate Avengers II), Scott Thomas (Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles) and Will Meugniot (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men: Evolution, Silver Surfer).

EPISODE LIST:

Disc 1
Episode 63 The Phalanx Covenant (Part 1)
Episode 64 The Phalanx Covenant (Part 2)
Episode 65 A Deal With The Devil
Episode 66 No Mutant Is An Island
Episode 67 Longshot
Episode 68 Bloodlines

Disc 2
Episode 69 Storm Front (Part 1)
Episode 70 Storm Front (Part 2)
Episode 71 Jubilee’s Fairy Tale Theatre
Episode 72 The Fifth Horseman
Episode 73 Old Soldiers
Episode 74 Descent
Episode 75 Hidden Agendas
Episode 76 Graduation Day

STREET DATE: May 4, 2010

Suggested retail price: $23.99 US; $29.99 Canada
Rated: TV – Y7

Run time: 308 minutes
DVD aspect ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Spanish and French Language
Tracks & Subtitles
© MARVEL, X-MEN, and all related characters and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries and are used with permission.
© 2010 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.

And some X-Men clips…

Now if only Buena Vista could see their way clear to releasing the 90s Spider-Man animated series…

I’ve been reading reviews of Iron Man 2 and there seems to be a constant thread in a lot of them – it’s not as good as the first.

Everything fun and terrific about “Iron Man,” a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, “Iron Man 2” has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. – THR

“Iron Man 2” isn’t as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it’ll do…while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. – Variety

Iron Man 2 thankfully just about pulls it off, but only just. It’s a strangely paced film and suffers at times from incredibly long exposition and poorly contrived story lines that seem to be added to no doubt develop the Avengers storyline rather than the Iron Man 2 story that I wanted to see. – HeyUGuys

Not that all reviews are tinged with disappointment – over at AICN, Harry predictably gushes -

IRON MAN 2 is comic movie crack! I remember how I was after I saw SPIDER-MAN 2. It felt like the world finally fucking got it. I thought we’d always have films increasingly badass from that point – and SPIDER-MAN 3 was not better. And I got a tad sad. When you see a comic book movie that is absolutely the best of what that character can be on screen – it is euphoric. Something to celebrate, to revel in. I’ve been a comic geek my entire life. I remember when Bob Layton really began blowing my mind with IRON MAN. This is that… but on film… with hundreds of talented awesome artists, technicians and craftsmen all supporting that vision.

- while at HitFix, former AICNer Drew McWeeny offers up a more measured appraisal but still loves it:

“Iron Man 2” is, in every possible way, issue two of a comic book. It doesn’t have to spend time setting up the origin of the character, and it doesn’t feel the need to resolve every single story thread introduced in this one film. There’s a sense that everyone’s settling into this series and thinking big. It is just as confident as the first film, and incredibly aggressive in the way it handles story and characterization.

Earlier this morning I tweeted a link to the THR review and one of my tweetpals (there has to be a better way of saying that) tweeted this reply:

Always painful when folks with no comic book background review comic book movies…

And this, I think is the problem at the heart of comic book movies.

It’s pretty much a given that we’re going to go apeshit over them – and by ‘we’ I mean comics fans. If we love a character or a comic, then chances are good that we’re going to go and see the movie. If we love it, we’re going to tell everyone. If we don’t, we’re also going to tell everyone (only probably much louder). We want them to make movies based on comics which appeal to us.

The issue is that just because they appeal to us it doesn’t mean that they’ll appeal to everyone, and if the last couple of weekend box office tallies should tell us anything, its that movies based on comics need to be marketed smartly and, more often than not, need an actor with a decent amount of star power to make a difference on the opening weekend.

I loved Iron Man. Loved it – and it was a massive hit because it had a charismatic lead with marquee value (even if it was faded marquee value), it was directed by a guy with an eye for what works in movies and something to prove, it was perfectly cast (with the possible exception of a touch-too-soft Jim Rhodes, something corrected for the second outing), and it was a well structured and written movie with a clearly defined purpose – tell an origin story. Even so, the final act was a little bit flabby, the throwdown between Iron Man and Obadiah Stane a little bit same-old, same-old – but you could forgive that because the rest of the movie was that damn good.

So the natural expectation is that the second will be better. Downey Jr’s career has been resuscitated to an amazing extent; Jon Favreau has now had his big hit and has less to prove – but when I look at the additional elements added to the movie I can’t help worry whether the burden of expectation and reaching ambition when it comes to establishing the Mighty Marvel Movie Universe will weigh it down.

Iron Man 2 expands Nick Fury and Agent Coulson’s roles, has Rhodey stepping up to take on the War Machine mantle, and adds Black Widow (although apparently Scarlett Johansson’s character is never actually called by this), Whiplash and Justin Hammer to the mix while also alluding to Thor and Captain America, and setting up the Avengers - which is why Tony Stark goes to visit with General Ross at the end of the Incredible Hulk movie from a few years back.

That’s a lot for any movie to do – and that’s before you deal with any development for Tony and Pepper. From the looks of many reviews, it’s too much to some extent. Even Drew McWeeny admits that it may not be to everyone’s taste –

Both Captain America and Thor are overtly referenced in this film, and my guess is that we’re going to see these references work directly into the films that Marvel has in the works for next summer. It’s a fascinating gamble, and I talked to people after the film who were just annoyed by the whole thing, but I think it’s like watching part of a big, crazy mini-series.

The problem is that not everyone reads comics, not everyone understands that a big, crazy mini series can be a crapload of fun. And even comic readers know that for every big crazy mini series that’s a crapload of fun, you also get a Day of Vengeance.

The risk with any second movie in a comic movie franchise seems to be that the movie will try to do too much in the time it has, mistaking more for better. Here, I’d say that risk is compounded as it’s not trying to do too much on it’s own behalf, it’s also tying in threads and laying the ground work for at least four other movies past and present (Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) – and that’s without any potential spin-offs along the lines of Black Widow

Iron Man 2 will be a huge hit. I’ll go and see it opening weekend. I’ll buy the DVD. I would suspect that due to the goodwill from the first movie, it’s pretty much bulletproof when it comes to reviews unlike, say, The Losers.

I just think that Mighty Marvel Movie Universe may prove more a hindrance than a help to the individual movies comprising it if care isn’t taken.

Well. I guess that sorts out the whole ‘pity we didn’t get a front shot instead of her ass’ thing from yesterday…

Via

Good to see that Mickey Rourke’s unfortunately-attired Whiplash hasn’t made it onto the domestic poster for Iron Man 2, cementing my hope that his character isn’t going to be quite as major as we’ve been lead to believe (although Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer are also absent), but it’s Scarlett Johansson’s pose that has generated some discussion on Twitter.

Her Black Widow – looking back over her shoulder, allowing a generous profile and her ass (obscured as it is) to pointing towards the viewer – is, presumably, as Twyst notes, to show tits and ass at the same time.

It’s not an unsurprising choice. After all, Johansson has quite the figure and has been known to hold some kind of appeal to a certain demographic. Also, at the ripe old age of 37, Gwyneth Paltrow can clearly no longer appeal to that same demo.

Of more interest* than the improbably amalgamation of genetics that is Scarlett Johansson (and lord only knows what kind of hideous offspring she and Ryan ‘oh I seem to have lost my shirt’ Reynolds will produce), is the symbol on her shoulder.

I’d add another member to the roster for the Avengers movie. So that makes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury and the Black Widow – and, if we can hope, the Hulk.

That’s going to be one expensive movie…
Via

*The fact that a SHIELD symbol is of more interest to me than pictures of Scarlett Johansson is pretty depressing, actually.

War Machine.

Black Widow.

Nick Fury.

Justin Hammer.

Suitcase armor.

Almost the silver centurion armor.

What’s not to like?

Well, maybe Mickey Rourke still…

From Jon Favreau’s twitter last week:

Before. RT @ThiagoSiQueiraF: Just watched “The Incredible Hulk” Gotta ask you:Does “Iron Man 2″ takes place before or after Hulk movie?

I don’t know why, but the fact that these things are actually thought about makes me giddy with anticipation for the upcoming Marvel movies.

I have to say – so far this Avengers line-up is pretty uninspired.

Where’s the shock character? The character that will cause friction and shake things up?

Iron Man, Cap and Spider-Woman?

Hoping for more wildcards soon…

Love it…

Iron Man 2 Trailer – Watch more Funny Videos

…but still not sold on Mickey Rourke.

So let me get this straight: Eternity contains everything, including Hank Pym.

And because Hank Pym thinks everyone hates him…

Yeah, okay. I can live with that.

But really, Eternity loves Hank Pym!

Why? Because he’s Scientist Supreme!

Er…well, the title feels a little forced, but I guess I can live with that too. After all, it’s not like Hank’s the smartest guy in the room; Eternity admits that Reed Richards is a lot smarter but an explorer (presumably the Explorer Supreme!) and Stark’s an Engineer (Supreme!). I have a hard time thinking Stark’s brighter than Pym though, and Eternity doesn’t say he is – it’s just that these are the guys that Pym compares himself to most.

The fact that they’ve both been massive dicks to him in this series is probably another reason that Eternity calls them out.

Tangentially, you know who Pym doesn’t see as his equal?

That’s right, baby. Because Pym knows that no-one is equal to Doom.

Anyway. So it turns out that while Reed and Stark have the role of Explorer and Engineer locked down, Pym’s the Mage.

Er…like magic? He uses science like magic? So he doesn’t have to explain how he does what he does, kind of like how Forge could make anything before Warren Bloody Ellis blew him out his glory hole?

You know what? I like Hank Pym. I always have even with his many, many, many flaws – so I’m okay with this new role and the new-found confidence it instills.

You know what I don’t like?

Creepy ‘that’s-the-brain-patterns-of-your-dead-ex-wife-in-a-robot-your-robot-son-built-for-a-mate-you-weirdo-perv’ Pym-Jocasta moments.

At least Speed doesn’t like it either…

It’s up for now, anyway…

Edit The original source was pulled; replaced with this one for now.

EDIT again Having received an email from Deputy General Counsel at Marvel, I’ve now pulled the footage entirely. I’m sure that it’s available somewhere but, unfortunately, you’ll have to go googling for it.

Ah well, roll on the official trailer.

Posted via web from Comic By Comic’s Wonderous Posterous!