The Billionty-Oneth Geek: Older Than 8 Since 1991

And as it’s becoming typical, another Marvel movie has opened up the summer movie season. Yes, Thor , the movie about our favourite God of Thunder. But will it be up there with the likes of Iron Man , or lower like the second Iron Man , or worst, X-Men Origins: Wolverine ? The movie starts off with a brief history lesson on Asgard, and its relationship to Earth and the rival kingdom, Jotunheim inhabited by creatures called the Frost Giants. The Asgardian King Odin, defeated the Frost Giants, and established a peace with the warring kingdoms. The story then refocuses on two brothers, Thor and Loki, the sons of Odin. One of the brothers is destined to become the new king, and as such, they are destined on a path of rivalry. After an attempt on their kingdom, Thor, both rash and impulsive, gathers his friends to make an attack on the Frost Giants. Nearly suffering defeat, the team is saved by Odin, who in anger, banishes Thor to Earth, sans all the cool powers. He lands in the des...

"Who do you trust?" Secret Invasion is the 2008 cross-over followup to 2007's World War Hulk from Marvel Comics. It's a return to form for writer Brian Michael Bendis, who also scripted the much talked about Civil War for Marvel. Secret Invasion tells a fascinating story. What if the heroes you knew all along were really Skrulls? Okay, let me back up for second. In the Marvel Universe, Skrulls are a shapeshifting alien race, often adversaries of the Fantastic Four. So yes, staple heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine... what if they weren't who you thought they were? That's the heart of the story in Invasion . The series had its share of ups and downs, and like Civil War before it, more intrigue came at the end of the series than the duration. But much like Civil War , Invasion succeeded in creating a dialogue amongst the Marvel fans; whether it be positive or negative, people had something to talk about. I think there lies Bendis'...

World War Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Released in the summer of 2007, World War Hulk is the big follow-up to 2006's Civil War by Marvel Comics . I should start off by saying that I thought Civil War was awesome. It took existing Marvel characters and did something new with them. I know the fanboy community didn't take to the story too well ("it was too emo" was a common argument), but I just liked that it was trying something new. It just so happened that when the series started that summer, I was living at residence at my school. A number of us started reading the series and it was great for conversation; it really made us think about what we would do in that situation. But I digress. So even before talking about the story of World War Hulk , it's important to give some details in how we got there. Years ago, the Hulk was involved in a rampage in Las Vegas that left 28 innocent people dead. An elite assemblage of heroes called The Illuminati (comprised of higher i...

I think I went into this series with the wrong impression. See, with a title like Wolverine Origins you think that you'd get an origin story or a young Wolverine going through his adolescent age to becoming a young man journeying into adulthood. Well, if you're like me, then you'd be quite mistaken. Written by Daniel Way, Wolverine Origins is actually more of a present day storyline following Logan as he discovers elements of his past. We discover that Wolverine and an American soldier named Nuke were responsible for a village massacre during the Vietnam war, both who were under the influence of the government at the time. With help from Emma Frost (a telepath), it's revealed that Wolverine had a son, who he thought was dead since childhood. His son, Daken, is not only alive and well, but is angry and seeks to kill his own father. That's basically the first 15 issues in a nutshell, but of course I'm missing several elements. Well, needless to say, I didn...

If you've been watching the business news or geek news the past 2 days, then you've probably heard: Disney is buying Marvel Enterprises. For how much? A whopping $4 billion (full story on CNN ). I seriously don't know what to think. A list of pro's and con's about the deal comes to mind. On the plus side, much like DC Comics being owned by Warner Bros., now Marvel has a huge financial backer for any endeavours that they couldn't pursue before eg. cartoons or movies for less famous characters. Any failures that they might incur would be absorbed by the pockets of the big Mouse. Also, this opens up the doors to much more geek-centric films, like Pixar created superhero movies (like The Incredibles , but with more known heroes!). But at what cost? Will the mature content and subject matter be toned down in the comic book stories? Will we see no more rated-R superhero movies a la the Blade franchise? [note: on a messageboard, someone assured me that if they ...