Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2245

Marvel Releases Details on GENERATION X Revival

Happy Wednesday/new comics day, all you comics fans out there. In today’s edition of Comics Relief, more X-Men ResurrXion news continues to come from fast and furiously from Marvel, this time all about the junior mutants of Generation X. Read on for all the details!

Marvel Reveals creative team for the new Generation X

This week, we’ve had the reveals of the new X-Men: Blue and X-Men: Gold team membership, as well as the first details on the ongoing Iceman series, all part of Marvel’s big ResurrXion of their mutant line. Now comes the first details on the rebooted Generation X, which, much like the previous series of that names (as well as The New Mutants) will focus on the younger generation of students.

The new Gen X is being written by Christina Strain with art by Amilcar Pinna (All-New Ultimates), and will focus on a new band of misfit mutants that don’t really fit in anywhere else, who will be studying at the newly reopened Xavier Institute (which is not in Westchester NY this time, but in Central Park). Generation X will be dividing the student body into three classes: The Next Generation of X-Men, the Next Generation of Ambassadors, and the Next Generation of so-called “lovable losers.”

The new kids will be under the guidance of original Gen X-er Jubilee, and among the students will be mutant bad boy Quentin Quire, Eye-Boy, Benjamin Deeds, Nature Girl, Bling!, and a new psychometric mutant named Nathaniel Carver. Generation X #1 hits in April of 2017. You can see the first artwork for the series above. [CBR]

Jamie McKelvie shows off redesigns for the X-Men: Blue team

Speaking of all things X-Men, also as part of the the ResurrXion relaunch, the O5 X-Men are getting a costume upgrade now that they’re part of the X-Men: Blue team. The new costume designs are coming from artist  Jamie McKelvie, and you can see the concept art for all five of them above. The new book will be written by Cullen Bunn with art by Jorge Molina, and stars the original five time-displaced X-Men, now led by Jean Grey instead of Cyclops, and with Magneto serving in the Professor X/mentor role. [Comic Book]

Watchmen/DC Rebirth connection will happen in early 2017

Ever since the beginning of DC Rebirth earlier this year, which suggested that Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan was responsible for creating the fracture in the timeline that resulted in the New 52, fans have been wondering when more secrets of the Watchmen/Rebirth connection would be revealed. Well, in the latest Direct Currents from DC, EIC Dan Didio said we won’t have to wait much longer.

“Everyone at DC knows how interested readers are in the seeds planted in DC Universe: Rebirth #1,” DiDio says. “Your patience will be rewarded in 2017. You’ll start to see some of the great mysteries of Rebirth addressed very soon. There’s the mystery of the Atom: what happened to Ray Palmer? Ryan Choi’s journey to find out what became of his mentor will appear front and center in Justice League of America. There was also that mysterious little button found in the Batcave. Batman and Flash will be joining forces to forensically find out what it is and, more importantly, where it came from. And Mr. Oz: what exactly is his deal? Is he gathering heroes? If so, why? Mr. Oz will be coming to the forefront in the first half of the year, as well.”

My money is still on Mr. Oz being Ozymandias from Watchmen. Anyone else have any other theories? [CBR]

Titan Comics to reprint The Forever War adaptation

Author Joe Haldeman’s sci-fi novel The Forever War was first published in 1974, and was an early example of social commentary blended with high concept science-fiction. Now UK publisher Titan Comics are reprinting and serializing the 1988 comics adaptation, which was written by Haldeman himself, with art by illustrator Mavarno.

The Forever War is about Earth’s centuries- long war with a race of aliens called Taurans, and was told from the perspective of a human soldier who survives through the entire conflict. Haldeman was a Vietnam veteran, and based the the war itself on his own experiences. The book was originally adapted to comics in 1988, and now Titan’s reprint of the series serializes the original volumes and come packed with bonus materials, including concept designs and several brand-new covers for each issue. You can see one of the new covers above. [Comics Alliance]

Sons of Anarchy’s Kurt Sutter reveals new comic title

Kurt Sutter, creator of the FX TV hit Sons of Anarchy, is returning to the world of comics. He will soon be teaming up with BOOM! Studios for Sisters of Sorrow, his third comic book series. No artist has yet been announced. Sutter recently released a supernatural fantasy comic series Lucas Stand, and also created a comic series of his FX show, Sons of Anarchy.

Sisters of Sorrow will tell the story of four women, all of whom have been victims of violent crimes in the past. The four women “will take on their perpetrators while dressed as nuns armed with bulletproof black leather and white habits, not to mention the state-of-the-art weaponry.” Sutter said in a statement “Yep, nuns with guns, baby. I’ve been wanting to create a mythology around kick ass female characters — and in this current sociopolitical climate, it seems more important than ever.” The series is expected to debut for Comic-Con 2017. [Deadline]

2000 A.D.’s Journal of Luke Kirby gets reprinted after 20 years

Before Harry Potter and even The Books of Magic’s Tim Hunter, there was another British boy wizard, only this one you probably haven’t heard of in you live in the U.S. The kid with the magic this time is the star of star of The Journal of Luke Kirby, a comic strip that ran in the pages of British anthology comic  2000 AD from 1988 to 1995. Although the strip ran for seven years, the story has never been reprinted.

Until now that is, because next year a new paperback release of the complete story by writer Alan McKenzie and artist John Ridgway is on its way, and The Journal of Luke Kirby will be reprinted in its entirety  in May of 2017. The collection will include all the Luke Kirby stories from 2000 AD, including Summer Magic (1988), The Night Walker (1992), Sympathy for the Devil (1993-4), Old Straight Track (1995), and The Price (1995). For more info on Luke Kirby, click on the following link: [Comics Alliance]

Steven Universe returns in new ongoing comic

Publisher Boom Studios has announced a new ongoing comic based on super beloved Cartoon Network show Steven Universe, coming from writer Melanie Gillman and artist Katy Farina. This latest ongoing title will be the third Steven Universe series from Boom.

The original Steven Universe title started off early in the show’s TV run and ran only for eight issues. That comic was then followed up by Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems, a four-issue which ran earlier this year. And there were also several specials and one shots for the character here and there. You can see the five of the variant covers for issue #1 of the new series in our gallery below. The book hits on February 1, 2017. [Den of Geek]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics / BOOM! Studios / 2000 A.D. / Titan Comics

James Gunn’s THE BELKO EXPERIMENT Looks Like the Worst Bloody Day at Work, Ever

If you needed a reminder that there’s always someone having a worse day at work than you are, check out Belko Industries. Because if corporations are people, The Belko Experiment is that seemingly innocuous officemate that turns out to be a raging, misguided, blood-thirsty psychopath.

The first trailer for James Gunn‘s non-Marvel film slated for next year premiered on Wednesday evening just moments ago (!), and showed a truly terrifying, bloody look at a corporate relationship gone very, very badly (but probably with good reason because c’mon/let’s be real: American businesses—even if they’re non-profit—feel pretty greedy and cut-throatingly ruthless these days).

The initial description for the film reads thusly:

It at first seems to be an ordinary morning on the job for a group of Americans working for a not-for-profit in a modern office building in Colombia. After noticing that their Colombian colleagues have not arrived for work, office worker Mike (John Gallagher, Jr.) spots some unfamiliar security guards entering a large hangar nearby. Moments later, an icy voice comes over the building’s PA system and calmly explains that the employees must kill a certain number of their co-workers — if not, they will be killed themselves. While the boss (Tony Goldwyn) tries to calm the troops, Mike belatedly realizes that something truly sinister is going on — and when metal doors come sliding down on all the building’s exits and windows, it becomes clear that friends and colleagues are now suddenly enemies in a bloody and brutal battle to the death.

This sh*t sounds like a The Purge-meets-Saw situation playing out amongst a bunch of coworkers trapped in the worst office environment maybe ever.

The Belko Experiment was directed by Greg McLean (The Darkness, Wolf Creek), with writing and producing credits belonging to Gunn. It stars John Gallagher Jr., Adria Arjona, Tony Goldwyn, David Dastmalchian, and Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn (because of course they are/can James Gunn do anything and not include those two?). It hits theaters on March 17, 2017.

Are you going to check it out? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image: Orion Pictures

VIKINGS Recap: The Outsider (Season 4, Episode 11)

Praise the gods! The wait is over! History Channel’s  Vikings has returned! As always, please note this recap contains heavy spoilers—continue at your own peril ! We’re entering the second half of season four after a brutal mid-season finale long ago in April. Catch up on our previous episodic recaps or check out our guide for a complete refresher. It’s been a while, and time keeps marches on.

Let’s dive back in!

Who wants to be king? Who wants to replace ol’ Ragnar the great, the cunning, and the defeated? There’s no better choice for the job than his and Lagertha’s oldest son, brave Björn Ironside—but that would be far too easy! And with the absence of Ragnar’s older brother, Rollo, in this episode I’m guessing this looming battle for the throne will be a strict next-generation thing.

There are four eligible full-grown descendants of Odin and sons of Ragnar and Queen Aslaug, whom we first met at the end of “The Last Ship” in April: sensible Ubbe the oldest (Jordan Patrick Smith), hot-headed Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø), sensitive Sigurd “snake-in-the-eye” (David Lindström), and little Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen).

And while none of them will be king just yet, tense allegiances are obviously declared between the brothers in this episode. A king will rise out of them sooner or later.

Basically it boils down to, who will follow their father back into the battlefield for revenge and glory? And who will stay and protect the throne and Kattegat? Ivar choosing the former sets in motion the start of the greatest papa Lothbrok vacation ever! (Or the worst?) Either way the best family Lothbrok holiday will always be the rite to the Norse gods, Æsir and Vanir, at the Uppsala temple in season one, episode 8 “Sacrifice” (see below). Such a seemingly loving family. Good times.

Ragnar’s gloomy suicide attempt later on in “The Outsider” is just another reminder that the gods have the final say though—no matter how much regret you’re shouldering, you’re not quite done yet, King Ragnar. As a descendant of Odin, I’m constantly surprised by his lack of assurance in the Norse gods. This isn’t some Tinkerbell moment, where clapping will give you instant results. Patience with the gods is vital in Vikings—and it’s obviously not the best trait for the Lothbrok clan.

Real talk: Ivar is a jerk.

The episode title of “the outsider” comes in the form of the youngest son, who’s definitely dealing with some deep daddy AND mommy issues alongside pent up hostility about his disability and virility. Woof. But that’s no excuse for being a terrible human being–let’s not go down that Joffrey Baratheon path, ok!

The pecking order of male heirs was certainly a brutal part of Viking Age families—see the epic relationship that is Ragnar and Rollo throughout the past seasons—but the sibling rivalry between Ivar and his older brothers is already borderline perverse and deranged. I mean come on, Ivar! Do you really have nothing better to do than crawling around spying on your older brothers getting some?

Ivar’s building rage makes me long for Ragnar and Lagertha’s deceased only daughter from season one, the kind and gentle Gyda. IMO it’s even more apparent in this season that the true light of Ragnar’s life was his only daughter. Sigh.

Meanwhile, Björn is the least tangled in all this mess, having already sailed the seas and tasted his fair share of war and death. His long-held wanderlust for the rest of the world remains steady and the explorer hype builds even more thanks to his completed map of the Mediterranean. Not even his loving wife Torvi and growing children will slow him down. Besides, he’s won the favor of wacky uncle Floki and sweet aunt Helga with their sleek fleet of newly designed Viking longships.

(Sidenote: Ragnar finally said those three little words to Floki, bringing all the bromance feels crashing down. Keep cool, Floki—and don’t you dare ruin this, Ragnar!)

If there’s something that the Lothbrok family has always been weary of it’s Kattegat’s right-hand man to the gods, the Seer. Such an optimistic guy, that Seer. He gives Björn some truthbombs, citing his father’s return as the start of “calamity, disorder, chaos, and death.” Yikes. But we’ve heard worse omens in past seasons, right? It’s not like Ragnar’s return is a curse upon all Vikings. Oh, wait…

Speaking of cursing the name of Ragnar Lothbrok, what’s Lagertha got going on? New badass companion-warrior-lover? Check! New adorable pet owl? Check! Same blind devotion to her ex-husband and current King? Double check! (But, seriously, that barn owl though—I’m in love! Could be a bad omen for her, unfortunately, since owls weren’t typically lucky creatures in Norse mythology… so there’s that.)

Based on the trailers released so far, I’m going to assume her relationship with Queen Aslaug isn’t exactly in the best place. Hey, who says powerful females can’t get along!? Final showdown between our favorite shieldmaiden and mythological nobility? Sadly, all signs point to yes in the coming episodes.

To be fair, Lagertha’s life with Ragnar in Kattegat was steady but exciting, simple but rewarding. Sorta the calm before the storm. Her current independence as Jarl Ingstad—beloved ruler of the Earldom of Hedeby—is totally great too, but it’s not for the faint of heart. (Not that she’s ever been a faint-of-heart kinda lady.) Though the people love her, who can an Earl trust? Who can an Earl love? She’s already had to kill one liar/lover–will Astrid prove to be an honest and true equal who loves her more than her title and her ex? My heart says yes, but my head says nope …especially after the game changing death of the noble Yidu—not even love is safe on Vikings!

The tides of change are upon everyone. Kattegat is a legit trading center, a long way away from the little settlement we first saw in season one. France is growing into a formidable foe in the world and Northumbria is dealing with its current identity crisis. The power struggle for glory is real. We have history to cue us in on a few major events coming up (all aboard the hype train for the Great Heathen Army!), but the real fun of Vikings has always been the intense character sagas woven through these IRL legends.

Hit us up next week for the episode 12 recap, “The Vision.” For now, spill your feels with us about all things Vikings in the comments below.

Images: The History Channel

GIF: VikingsHistory/Tumblr

The Smiths Are Releasing Two New Demos

Morrissey may be a man with fickle words, but his songwriting will always go down in history as an essential part of music culture. So it’s with total joy that we can say two previously unheard demos by The Smiths will soon hit your ear holes. While you’re waiting for them, watch Lin-Manuel Miranda and special guests in an episode of Drunk History, see Vince Staples’ awesome Wes Anderson-inspired tour poster, cry to the new Anohni video, and contemplate buying sneakers designed by Ad-Rock of Beastie Boys fame.

Image Credit: Rough Trade

This charming band just got even more charming. The Smiths revealed they will put out two previously unheard tracks: a demo mix of “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” and an alternate version of “Rubber Ring.” Those two songs are related because “The Boy,” which originally appeared on 1986’s The Queen Is Dead, was released as a single the year prior with “Rubber Ring” as its B-side. The band has yet to reveal when the songs are coming out, but Morrissey’s fan website, True to You, has confirmed this as fact. The demos will be a part of a 7″ single coming out. This doesn’t mean a reunion is in the works or a new album, but it does mean we get to hear songs by The Smiths that we hadn’t before, and that’s good enough for us. [Rolling Stone]

Lin-Manuel Miranda may have dipped out of his Hamilton production roles, but he isn’t stepping away from the cameras. He was a guest star on Comedy Central’s incredible series Drunk History which is exactly what it sounds like: guests getting drunk, retelling a part of history, and then having fellow comedians renact their drunk version. It’s strange to think Miranda wasn’t a guest already, but every guest apperance in this episode (Questlove! Aubrey Plaza! Dave Grohl!) makes it worth the wait. [Consequence of Sound]

Image Credit: Vince Staples

Rappers are as in tune with pop culture as their lyrics suggest. Just look at Vince Staples. The hip-hop artist dropped his Prima Donna EP this year and then started a Beats 1 show based on arthouse sounds. With a fresh tour ahead of him, the Long Beach rapper decided to mix art with music yet again. The 2017 tour dates take inspiration from Wes Anderson‘s iconic film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, so the poster sees Staples and opener Kilo Kish dawning the iconic sailor ware with the tour dates bolded in Anderson’s recognizable font. Check out all the dates above.

Anohni knew what she was doing when she titled her new album Hopelessness. The record is full of gorgeous vocals that haunt you to your core, stirring up emotions of longing, despair, and solitude while also touching on the importance of empathy. In her new “Marrow” video, we get a look at all of this. Visual artist Lorraine O’Grady sits in the center of a static shot, singing along to Anohni’s vocals, forcing the viewer (in its own way) to feel for both Anohni and O’Grady at the same time. Be prepared to take a seat if you aren’t already before clicking play above. [Rolling Stone]

Image Credit: Keep/Planned Parenthood

In the days following the election, Planned Parenthood has seen a spike in donations. Now, that organization will get another cool round of donations from a pair of sneakers. Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys teamed up with Keep, a Los Angeles-based vegan shoe company, to design a pair of sneakers where all proceeds benefit Planned Parenthood. The shoes, called “Keep x Ad-Rock midtop,” rock a water-resistant, nylon body and sleek pink laces, plus Adam’s last name split between the left and right shoes. It’s cool and comfy, just like him. You can snag a pair here.

See you back here on Friday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: The Sound of The Smiths/Warner Music UK

What’s Next After the [SPOILER] in ARROW’s 100th Episode

Warning: the following story contains major spoilers from Arrow’s 100th episode, “Invasion!” Don’t keep reading unless you’ve caught up to the Arrow part of the big crossover with The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. You’ve been warned …

Sometimes the best way to move forward is to look back, and Arrow proved that with its milestone 100th episode.

In the second hour of the big DC TV crossover with Supergirl, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow, five characters—all originally from Arrow before some moved on to the other DC shows—found themselves in an alternative reality where Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) never got on the Queen’s Gambit, therefore never becoming the Green Arrow. The invading alien race the Dominators captured the five humans from the group fighting them—Oliver, Thea (Willa Holland), Diggle (David Ramsey), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), and Sara Lance (Caity Lotz)—to get information from their minds about the metahumans on their team. After each character figured out their peaceful, happy lives were not actually real, and just a shared hallucination, they decided to fight against it and get back to the real world. Thea, however, chose to stay behind at first, not wanting to lose her parents Robert (Jamey Sheridan) and Moira (Susanna Thompson) all over again. But in the end she chose her brother Oliver over the memory of her parents and left the fake reality with him.

Before Oliver escaped the alternative reality, though, he got a glimpse of all his loved ones, past and present, one last time. Standing in hologram form before him were his parents, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). Seeing them all smiling at him recalled memories of things they said to him over the years, and was an extremely emotional and touching moment for the man who used to keep everyone at arms’ length.

“That beat was not in the original break of the episode,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim told Nerdist along with a small group of reporters after screening the episode early. “Honestly, I can’t even tell you where that idea came from. It was just I was writing that scene where Oliver goes back and it just popped into my head that basically all the actors that we can’t get, at the time I didn’t know who we could get and who we couldn’t, I’m like this is a way we can get them.”

While Arrow was able to get Cassidy, Thompson, and Sheridan back for the nostalgic 100th episode, the show was unable to get Donnell and Haynes due to scheduling purposes (although the episode did make a hilarious shout out to Donnell’s new series regular gig on Chicago Med!). Their holograms were completely CG as a way to still include them in the milestone episode.

“Props to our visual effects house,” Guggenheim said. “Zoic handled those shots and they did an amazing, amazing job, particularly with Colin and with Colton, because we couldn’t reshoot them. We had to take them from old episodes and roto them out and put them into this. It was hard, obviously, because they had to work with pre-existing footage. Yes, they had 99 episodes to choose from, but it was a lot harder than it makes it sound. They did an incredible, incredible job, as they always do.”

While most of the entire episode took place in the Dominators fake world created in the minds of Oliver, Thea, Dig, Sara, and Ray, expect there to be major fallout and ramifications from what they all went through. And not just for the last episode of the crossover on Legends of Tomorrow but also for Arrow as a series moving forward.

“With respect to Arrow, going into 509, which is the Arrow midseason finale, you’ll see that Oliver sort of has a new sense of purpose,” Guggenheim said. “The events of 508 basically forced him to emotionally double down on his mission, so he goes into 509 with a new sense of purpose. I would say, also, a reaffirmation of his bond with Thea, because they basically chose each other in 508. That carries through the midseason finale and, obviously, sets up things beyond it.”

Another way the crossover is going to affect Arrow moving forward is the fact that everyone is now clued in to the fact that Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) changed the timeline on The Flash, and how that had repercussions for everyone in the present.

“Arrow 509, the midseason finale, there’s a fair amount of discussion about Flashpoint, given the fact that, essentially, the crossover outed Flashpoint to the Arrow characters who weren’t Felicity,” Guggenheim said. “They deal with—I think in some humorous ways, actually—some of the ramifications. For example, I think Curtis [Echo Kellum] is concerned that maybe he was straight originally, as one example.”

One reason why the showrunners were so excited about doing a nostalgic hour for Arrow‘s 100th episode was because they got to bring back so many integral characters that are no longer on the series, like Laurel.

“She is such an essential figure to the show. She was the second lead on the show,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said. “Even though the show has evolved, Laurel is at the heart of it. She was Oliver’s great love, she’s Sara’s sister, she’s Lance’s [Paul Blackthorne] daughter. Watching those early episodes, so much of it revolved around her relationship with all these characters. I watched the episode ‘Vertigo’ where she’s arguing with her father about how much Thea reminds her of Sara and how he should go easy on her. I’m sitting there listening to that and thinking about, ‘God, they didn’t even know Sara was alive yet.'”

He continued, “Even if we do get to 200 episodes, Laurel will always be at the heart of the series and be such an important character and, on top of that, Katie Cassidy will always be so important to us. We were so happy that she agreed to come back because she is part of the family, both behind the camera and in front of it.”

With so many fan-favorite characters returning for the episode, one current character was conspicously absent: Evelyn Shaw aka Artemis (Madison McLaughlin). In the previous Arrow episode, it was revealed that she was in contact with the big bad villain Prometheus, though it’s not yet known the extent of her relationship with him or her betrayal of Team Arrow.

“It’s funny, to be honest with you, in the break of 508, we talked a lot about of do we have her in there, and it felt like it was the elephant in the room and we didn’t want it distracting,” Guggenheim said of Artemis being left out of the episode. “We don’t reference it in large part because I’m not a fan of, ‘Oh, it’s too bad that Evelyn’s mom is sick this week.’ I would prefer to just whistle past the graveyard. I will say, you will get a payoff to 507’s cliffhanger with respect to Evelyn big time in 509.”

Since there was so much to pack in to just one episode, some scenes ended up being cut for time.

“There was a little exchange between Sara and Kara [Melissa Benoist] that I really liked—I don’t think we even filmed it—where Sara says, ‘Hey do you want to get a drink when this is all over,’ and Kara says, ‘I think you wanna meet my sister,'” Kreisberg said. “Just the idea of starting the Sara/Alex [Chyler Leigh] ‘shippers going. It’s those little moments that wound up on the cutting room floor.”

Another one that got cut was a “funny scene” between Speedy and HR (Tom Cavanagh).

“She says, ‘So what are you doing here? What value do you bring?’ He’s like, ‘Well I’m writing a book,’ and she’s like, ‘Oh that’ll be a big help,’ and walks away,” Kreisberg said with a laugh. “It was all of those little tiny moments. It’s amazing how many of them we actually got to keep, because this episode came in wildly over, not surprising. And you’ve got to keep the plot going, and you had to have room, especially in these episodes, which probably had even grander visual effects sequences than we’re used to in an average episode, so it tended to be those little jokey moments that fell by the wayside.”

“There was a Supergirl moment on the Waverider that I really wanted to get in there,” Guggenheim added. “I’m not going to tell you what it is, because we may do it next year, but Supergirl never ended up on the Waverider so we couldn’t do the moment. And obviously there were moments with Colton and Colin in Arrow that were scripted that we obviously just couldn’t do because of Colin and Colton’s availabilities. For example, Roy was going to be Thea’s boyfriend—that hadn’t changed—and they met when he stole her purse, and that also hadn’t changed. I just thought that would have been fun and nice to see.”

And Kreisberg added, “So, the 200th!”

What did you think of Arrow‘s 100th episode? Tweet me your thoughts at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. The DC TV crossover concludes tomorrow with Legends of Tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Images: The CW

Inked Wednesday #113 – Sam the Eagle, Adam Savage, and More Geeky Tattoos

Who needs a dose of patriotism this fine Wednesday? I hope you do because I have a glorious Sam the Eagle tattoo to share with you. The character from The Muppets is a stalwart advocate of American morals and values. He also recognizes when those around him are a little different. His “You are all weirdos” moment is captured in this ink:

Sam the Eagle (The Muppets) | Source: Rob, inked by Phil LaRocca at Elm Street Tattoo

I also want to spotlight this beauty from Billy. It’s a highly detailed portrait of Adam Savage. The artist did an exceptional job with the skin tones–I’m quite impressed with the shading.

Adam Savage | Source: Billy, inked by Dan Molly

As per usual, you’ll find more ink in the gallery below. There’s a couple of pics showing off a Gipsy Danger tattoo from Pacific Rim, a tattoo that combines a favorite video game, music, and film, and some comic book inspired tattoos.

If you have geeky tattoos on your skin or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture, STEM, music, or other nerd-inspired ink on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature and don’t forget to let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works out of. If you are the tattoo artist, give me links to your portfolios and/or Instagram accounts so I can share them.

THE FLASH Recap: Barry Unites the DC TV Universe to Stop an “Invasion”

Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Flash ! Proceed with caution, speedsters. For reals, if you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “Invasion,” we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Let’s go.

It’s that time of year again. When the sun sets a little earlier, the wind blows a little colder, holiday tunes are heard in every store, and the CW’s DC TV shows stage crossovers guaranteed to set superhero fans’ heats ablaze. This year, however, that crossover has doubled in size, including not only Arrow and Flash, as it did the last two years, but CW newcomer Supergirl and the ensemble of heroes in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as well. It’s almost too much for even four nights of television, but as per usual, each show gets to tells its own story within this epic tableau. The second of the four nights is The Flash, and it’s when things really get started.

The show smartly weaves the fallout from “Flashpoint,” which has plagued Barry throughout this season, into a narrative that sees him taking a leadership role as he recruits the rest of the universe’s superheroes. It’s a shame that Cisco’s on the outs with Barry right now, because it robs him of some of the fannish joy he usually brings to these proceedings. And there’s a lot of proceedings in this, the darkest DC TV crossover yet.

Loosely adapting the company’s comics storyline of the same name, “Invasion” uses its tale of an attack on Earth by the alien “Dominators” as, in the time-honored superhero comic tradition, an excuse to watch some of our favorite characters crack wise and battle bad guys and each other. But Barry’s changing of the timeline comes back to haunt him once more, lending gravitas as Cisco outs him for having killed his brother. Barry in turn admits to Diggle and Oliver that he erased Diggle’s daughter from existence, while Stein learns he now has an adult daughter he’s never known.

It’s pretty heavy stuff, but the big, bright red-and-blue ace (or “S) that “Invasion” has up its sleeve is Supergirl, whose introduction to all of Barry’s friends is completely adorable. She’s Wendy surrounded by the Lost Boys in Peter Pan, Snow White upon meeting the Seven Dwarfs. Whereas the first order of business for most heroes might be finding out who to punch, Kara immediately sets to learning everyone’s code name and name, including the non-superheroes on both Team Flash and Arrow. But her superpowers come in handy when the episode requires these friends to turn against each other, the action focus of this episode.

Still, everyone gets one good character beat, and The Flash doesn’t forsake its other ongoing storylines. Caitlin confesses her fears that Killer Frost might one day return to her late husband Ronnie’s partner Stein, who’s had some experience of his own juggling multiple personas. HR, still anxious to prove his worth to the team (while continuing to take notes on them for his novel), agrees to mentor Wally, after the young man saves Oliver and Barry, when their friends’ minds are overtaken by the Dominators. Barry admits to some relief that the invasion isn’t, for a change, something for which he’s responsible, and confesses he sees it as a means of proving his own worth once more to his teammates. Which he does when he gets the rare opportunity to use his own brains to save the day, tricking a mind-controlled Supergirl into destroying the source of the Dominators’ hold on everyone.

With Sara, Thea, Ray, and Oliver now prisoners of the Dominators, “Invasion” continues on tomorrow night’s episode of Arrow. So be sure to check out our Arrow recaps for our take on that installment!

Accelerated Particles

— Is it just me or was anyone a little disoriented by the opening of this episode? It starts in the midst of battle, before flashing back 10 hours, but there are so many heroes involved I was worried for a second I’d missed something.

— “I have to say, this is a nice universe you got here.”

— As it did with Grodd, Flash again uses telepathy as a means of eliminating costly animation of its CG villain’s mouths.

— Seeing the Justice League’s Hall of Justice is enough to bring tears to this old fanboy’s eyes. But since the show can only afford an exterior matte painting, all interior shots utilize an airplane hanger. At least Barry hilariously admits as much, referring to it as “this old hall…hanger thing that STAR Labs owns.”

— “Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow? Oh my God, he just got so much hotter.” “Oh God…”

— “I would be gone faster than humor in a Liam Neeson movie.”

— Oliver’s words of consolation to his friend echo Jay’s earlier this season: “You’re not a god, Barry.”

— I love that it took all of 30 seconds after informing Supergirl he’d never call her by either of her names, Heat Wave is crying, “Supergirl, do something!”

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Images: CW

BATMAN FOREVER Looks Really Good in This Fan-Made Trailer

I’ve long been an unapologetic cheerleader for the 1995 movie, Batman Forever. Sure, most of this had to do with it being the first movie I paid to see in a theater myself (since I was 11, I was accompanied by my aunt and uncle, so it’s fine) and that I was at my Batman-loving peak, but I watched it again recently (to review for Schlock & Awe) and didn’t think it was as bad as people claim. Despite its ridiculous dialogue, weird neon color scheme, and silly CGI effects, it’s still got a good, solid Batman story to it, which the above fan-made trailer hypes brilliantly.

YouTuber Sam Ibrahim (as shared by io9) has made a use of what interesting visuals Joel Schumacher had in place and coupled it with some choice cues from Daft Punk‘s soundtrack to TRON: Legacy to give us a rather chilling trailer for a movie that not even I could claim had any kind of gravitas. The VHS-style clip largely ignores anything to do with Robin and Two-Face (Which, let’s be fair, were extraneous to the overall story at hand) and focuses on the Riddler’s obsession with Bruce Wayne and his quest to destroy Batman. Throw in some choice action sequences and it looks like a damn good movie to me!

There were certainly a lot of things wrong with Batman Forever; I would never claim otherwise. But, the performances by Jim Carrey and Val Kilmer weren’t among them. Yes, I said it: Kilmer is a good Batman. Leave him alone, you guys. This trailer’s zeroing-in on what should have been the real movie’s main conflict. Now I really wish this version of the movie actually existed. I might like Batman Forever EVEN MORE.

Let us know your Bat-thoughts in the comments below!

Image: Warner Bros

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!

To talk about a deservedly chided movie, here’s me talking about After Earth!

Someone Finally Created a Puzzle That Never Ends

For those of you spending the holiday season in colder climes, that invariably means staying indoors with your grandmother and spending 17 hours piecing together a giant ass puzzle. Eventually, though, you find that thousandth piece that you dropped on the floor four hours ago and slap it into place, revealing a picture of some idyllic landscape or a super close-up shot of a daffodil. And then it’s done forever. The experience was equal parts wholesome and infuriating, and now you can move on with your life, fulfilled. But what if the puzzle never ended?

Nervous System, a generative design lab that works at the intersection of art, science, and technology, has just revealed the Infinity Galaxy Puzzle. Based on topological spaces that continuously tile, the Infinity Galaxy Puzzle is a wild phenomenon that has no beginning, no end, no proposed shape, and no preconceived expectations whatsoever. It’s the kind of puzzle you can truly be yourself around.

The concept is based on a scientific curio called the Klein Bottle, which, according to Gizmodo, is an impossible 3-D shape whose insides and outsides are mathematically identical. Using this principle, the innovative minds at Nervous System created pieces that, when flipped, can be swapped from the right side of the puzzle to the left, and vice versa. That’s right puzzle nerds: no need to dump out the box and spend the first half hour flipping the pieces right side up! Both sides of the Infinite Galaxy Puzzle pieces are outfitted with a photo of our galactic center as viewed from the Hubble Observatory, so juxtaposing them will only result in more colorful and psychedelic globs of the cosmos.

The 133-piece puzzle, which Nervous is selling for $100 right here, does include a “correct” image of the Milky Way, but don’t let that limit you. Go ahead and mix and match. Buy seven copies and let ’em mingle. Blend and rearrange your astral masterpiece to ad nauseum. And go call your grandma and give her the good news.

Image: Nervous System/Vimeo

Can you be sucked through a hole in space?

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: “Deals with Our Devils” is S.H.I.E.L.D. at Its Best

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Proceed with caution, agents. If you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “Deals with Our Devils,” we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Then let’s go.

Of the three shows I recap each week for Nerdist.com—The Walking Dead, The Flash, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently the one to which I most look forward. Sure, it’s a case of apples and oranges to compare three TV series so different from one another, but there’s just no denying that S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s rambunctious energy, go-for-broke bravura, and willingness to try new things with a minimum of fuss and preciousness makes it the kind of pop culture we could all use more of these days. “Deals With Our Devils” is a perfect example.

While other shows might labor for weeks to explain exactly how Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie were absorbed into the ghost dimension at the end of “The Good Samaritan,” S.H.I.E.L.D. hit the ground running, realizing that our main concern isn’t how it happened, but rather the effect it has on the relationships with those from whom they’ve been cut off. Specifically, May, Jemma, and Daisy. (Sorry, but Robbie’s brother continues to teeter between boring and annoying.)

Fitz is understandably worried that Jemma will be devastated by his disappearance, especially since she was trapped on another world not all that long ago. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), the good doctor’s a bit distracted, having been sent on a secret mission by Director Mace to examine the Terrigenesis of Senator Nadeers’s brother. May, however, reveals a new side of herself when she believes Phil could be gone for good—a side that will have “Philinda” fans pumping their fists in appreciation. As for Daisy, well, she’s just been through too much weird shit to accept anything at face value ever again. (At least for the purposes of this week’s plot.) What sixth sense drives her to say Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie don’t “feel” dead isn’t explained. But it’s enough to propel her into action when Mack winds up possessed by the spirit of the Ghost Rider, chasing after him as he races off to Chinatown to exact some bloody vengeance with his fiery shotgun axe.

All the while, the show finds time for some nifty Rashomon-style presentation of scenes, from the perspective of those in the “real” world as well as those trapped in the color-desaturated ghost dimsension (the S.H.I.E.L.D. equivalent of Stranger Things‘ Upside Down). It’s the kind of high-concept storytelling that was once the territory of shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it’s grown increasingly uncommon in the today’s big-budget soap-opera era of genre TV.

Yet when it comes to genre, S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s willingness this season to experiment, or to mix science-fiction, fantasy, and horror like three primary colors in an effort to paint heretofore unseen landscapes, is equally impressive. If the Next Generation puzzle box doesn’t grab you, maybe the Lovecraftian overtones of May and Radcliffe’s too-much-for-a-human-mind-to-bear debate about whether or not to use the Darkhold to retrieve their friends might do the trick. Or Fitz’s idea to use Radcliffe’s resident AI Aida to decipher and find a solution from the book’s pages; which she does all too well in one of the show’s best set pieces to date. Props here to Mallory Jansen, whose endlessly expressive face really sells the idea that she’s not only learning a new language in seconds, but a new way of comprehending the universe.

The consequences of that comprehension, however, remain to be seen. In this episode’s final scene, Aida is seen creating an artificial brain. Is it one for which she’ll also create a body? Is it a quantum upgrade to her own software? Will her technology—as the saying goes—save S.H.I.E.L.D. or destroy it? And just how will this new alliance between Robbie and a deeply troubled Mack come into play? In any case, I’m looking forward to the inevitable clash of next-level technology and primeval, supernatural hellfire that that this season seems heading towards. Especially with the human stakes now higher than ever. After all, saving the world is important. But family is what makes the world worth saving. So Phil and Melinda finally admitting to one another that what they want most is to share a bottle of wine? That’s essential!

Declassified Deliberations

— “What are they doing? Do we look that stupid on coms?”

— Mack is apparently holding enough pain for Ghost Rider to survive off of “for years.” Methinks we’re gonna learn a lot more about the agent in the weeks to come.

— “They’re out of their minds! Driving off against orders? With no helmet?!”

— While “The Good Samaritan” revealed the origin of Robbie’s fusion with Ghost Rider, this week’s episode essentially finishes the tale; with the young man promising to settle all of the Rider’s scores from here on out. Thereby binding his deal with the devil for the foreseeable future.

— “My axe is plenty sharp. And a shotgun.”

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Images: Marvel/Disney/ABC