My Poems: Rivelazione

Az összes versem megtalálhatod a "My Poems" oldalon, ahol nyelv szerint színekkel el vannak választva! You can find all of my poems on the page of the same name, where they are color coordinated based on the language they were written in. Puoi trovare le mie poesie sulla pagina "My Poems" dove sono colorate in base alla lingua nella quale le ho scritte.

. . . . .

RIVELAZIONE

Guarda che per me,

Roma eri te.

Non tanto una cittá da visitare,

Ma una casa dove potevo ritornare.

Non avrei mai potuto immaginare

Che un evento del genere mi potesse intralciare

Nel possedere l'unica cosa che

Per me, qui, non c'é:

Un'amica tanto amata come mia madre;

Un'amico tanto fidato come mio padre.

L'ora dell'addio - ci riincontriamo:

anche se vi ho perso amici... io per sempre vi amo!

(Comics) Anita Blake Vampire Hunter

(this is also a book review!)

I always enjoy books that are adapted to comics. Mostly because I hate to read... I just like the pictures telling me the story. Marvel, just like any other comic company tries to make more and more book adaptations. One of the examples would be Jane Austen novels, like Pride & Prejudice; I have a copy of Sense & Sensibility. But I have seen several Shakespeare plays adapted as well.

The one I want to talk to you about now is sort of a pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-predecessor of Twilight. Actually, when summing up they sound very similar but really there is no resemblance at all! Trust me!

The books that the comics were based on were written by Laurell K. Hamilton (click here to see her facebook page!), with the first book of the series published in 1993. And the phenomenal success of the comic ended up in Marvel asking Hamilton to write a prequel to Anita's story that was only published in comics, and not in books.

If you have not heard about her, I am not entirely sure you live on this planet or that I wish to have anything to do with you... but I would like to recommend to you some really great comics so let us discuss her in more detail.

The story has evolved into several branches, but the main concept is that:
Anita Blake is a vampire hunter. Or at least she is said to be because of the number of vampires that met their fates at her hand. Legally she is necromancer who raises zombies for money. She is also a supernatural consultant for the police, so the stories usually involve some sort of murder mystery. 

The most important and recurring characters you need to know about are: Jean-Claude, the master vampire of their town, who got this job thanks to Anita killing his master. Second is Richard, a werewolf who is an elementary school teacher during the day and the leader of his wol fpack during the night. Third is a parter/enemy of Anita's, another hunter who's nickname is "The Death" - he is Edward. We never really discover anything about him, he is sort of a psycopath, yet you really get to like him as he is the only character who you can support by the end of the books... either way my favorite book featured a storyline where we get to find out more about him, so that was good. Fourth and fifth are Dolph Storr, and Zerbrowski, two police agents whom are colleagues of Anita. Finally the more important characters that are worth mentioning are Micah, a were-leopard who becomes Anita's boyfriend; Ronnie, a private detective who is Anita's best friend and finally Nathaniel, one of the were-leopards whom Anita is taking care of.

Anita initially hates vampires and monsters. Until she encounters Richard and opens her heart to the possibility. At that point Jean-Claude cunningly sweeps himself into her heart as well. Seeing that Anita and Richard have a destructive relationship and they can't seem to find that fine line between love and hatred, the two broke up. But things aren't that easy, seeing that Anita had received an important role in Richard's wolf pack as well as becoming the leader of the were-leopards pack. This is were Micah comes in. Hers and his pack are quite small and very defenceless, therefore the two decide to join forces - not to mention that Micah appears to be the only person who doesn't despise her for her insatiable lust for hunting and killing. So far Anita appears to be the centre of the universe in both the were and the vampire world. And this wouldn't bother me this much if Ms. Hamilton hadn't forgotten about THE MYSTERY PART!!
I used to love these books... my friend told me that she started hating Richard because he is a wining asshole, but I hate Anita far more! And the sex... god, I don't care! There was a chapter where the writer talked about Jean-Claude's clothing for four pages! I SKIPPED IT! And the mystery? At the beginning of one of the books we find out that someone from out of town is here... could he be the murderer? Oh wait, he is... how fucking original!

As far as the comics go, we are in luck because they are adaptations of the first couple of books: the good ones. The ones that had me shiver with excitement, the ones that left me scared and curios... you know, longing for more! I seriously only read these books now because I want to know how it will end! I couldn't care less any-more about the story and the characters and I just hope that Edward will return soon!

The books that are adapted are Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned with the addition of the prequel titled The First Death.

The books would be heavily R rated, going on R18... but the comics, as graphic as they are, are nowhere near as horroristic as the images, e.g. I made up in my mind while reading. I agree that it should be classified for a mature audience, because the stories are quite heavy. Not taking for granted that it features every mythical creature that you are afraid will crawl into your room at night in the dark and eat your face! And I literally mean ALL of them! But all and all you will learn to love these characters not only because of their bad-assery, but because you learn that deep deep down, behind that thick layer of sociopathism and psycopathism they are just people. (are these exsisting words? Oh, never mind, you get them!) From the vampires all the way to the actual humans.
I would also like to point out that although it has become a generic fact that vampires have feelings too, this book captures perfectly those kind of vampires that don't care! You were made to give me blood so I may become your God. -> that is generally how a vampire should think. And it keeps it real: garlic, holy water, crosses, sunlight - every rule written down in the big book is kept. No stupid exceptions, no magical rings or sparkling!! (if you get these references, you are cool!). They have pale skin, super strength and everyone has one special and unique ability that others don't. It is literally perfect.
But not just vampires, the same rule applies to zombies and were animals. Hamilton knows her audience and that is extremely gratifying. And even though I am not much of a fan anymore and I skip several pages that really don't go anywhere... I still love Anita and this world. And I imagine that many fans do like the changes made with the characters! I don't assume that the people keep buying it for the only reason that they want to know the ending - like me.

To sum up, if you loved the books and you know that a TV series and movie would simply and literally just ruin your favorite characters, but you still long to see them in a whole other adaptation: then the comics are for you. The best lines; the best stories and the whole origin of who Anita is; the version of hers we fell in love with is all here! It is truly a great graphic novel EVEN if you don't know the books! Check it out!

Here is an awesome cover of two great Marvel characters meeting, wouldn't you like to see a story with these two? :D

My Top 10 Favorite Marvel Characters

Still have one Marvel review to go, however, it is just a book adaptation in comic, so really let me wrap up the well known sort of "Stan Lee-an" sort of Marvel comics and movies and cartoons reviews here. Still got one Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions coming up soon, however I wanted to finish off with a list of my favorite Marvel characters: all of them! Hope you enjoy it!


10) Mystique

I don’t know much about Mystique to be honest, but it is exactly that mystery that keeps me  interested in her. There are two things that fascinate me about her though. First is her loyalty to Magneto. Second is the storyline according to which she is the mother of Nightcrawler. In this story we find out that the father of the child was Azazel, a red skinned mutant with a pointy tale and the ability to teleport. Because he was considered to be the devil himself, he is a touchy subject, however he was brought to life in X-Men: First Class (click here to read my review!). At the end of which movie Mystique and Azazel both joined Magneto’s team. I don’t think that the writers will be smart enough to encorporate this story to the sequel, but I sure would like it a lot!

9) Captain America

Everybody loves him… that is probably why he is so low on my list. I loved him in the Ultimates series and I loved him in the movie cartoons (click here to read my review!). He is a fantastic character and not for his strenght or his shield, but for his charisma. However he has lately turned into this even more iconic character thanks to the live action movies (click here to read my review!) that I am embarassed to admit that I like him. People just give me that dumb look like "Yeah, of course you like him.”. So I just keep the cute Steve Rogers all to myself now.

8) Deadpool

This crazy character was introduced to me in a little cartoon by the title of Hulk vs. Wolverine (click here to read my review!). I had fallen in love with him at first sight. He is an idiot. A smart and a funny one. He is also incredibly strong. Originally he is known as Wade Wilson from Canada, he was offered hope in the form of Department K, a special weapons development branch of the Canadian government. Wilson became a test subject in Department K’s branch of the joint U.S./Canadian superhuman enhancement project, the Weapon X Program; his cancer was temporarily arrested via the implantation of a healing factor derived from another Department K agent, the mutant adventurer Wolverine. He is a wonderful character, a bad guy, but don’t you wish that sometimes the bad guys were fun? Instead of you know, incredibly annoying…

7) Spider-Man

I loved him ever since I saw the Sam Raimi movies, which made me start reading the Ultimate Spider-Man comics and now I loved him in the new version. It’s just a great character whom you get to grow with and care for more than you’d think. I love his love stories; his relationship with Aunt May; the way he has learned to cope with his losses and how he fights evil until his last breath. He is the kind of guardian angel you want looking after you.

6) Iceman

Originally my favorite character from the Ultimate X-Men comics, Bobby Drake has the ability to turn everything to ice, including himself. He is a young but incredibly passionate kid with a heart of gold. He was portrayed by Shawn Ashmore in the X-Men live action movies (click here to read my review!) and gotta say he worked with the character very well. Even though in the comics he is a very cheerful person who makes you smile, in the movie they approached him differently, which was all fine, but if I must choose, I’d go with the comic version! Looking forward to seeing some more of him!

5) Giantman/Antman

Many people love Antman, and recently I finally discovered why. He is a geeky, yet very smart and good looking guy with the heart of gold and the true personality of a hero. However, the person I care for is Giantman from the Ultimates series. I always loved this version because Hank Pym is a total asshole. Not only in this, also in the cartoon that was based on these comics (click here to read my review!). There is even a storyline where he hits his wife! It fantastically creates this contrast that a superhero doesn't have to be the kindest and most caring person in the world. His wife Janet and him have this relationship that destroys them. But that's love for you, we might not always care for the right guy! 

At Comic-Con they announced the plans for an Antman movie - by a director who takes action movies and comedies to a whole other level, so it should be really fun - I will miss my asshole of a Hank Pym though!

4) Beast & Storm

If there is one love story that gets me more excited (beside the one coming up!), is the one between Beast and Storm. I never knew the original stories, but in the Ultimate X-Men comics their love just kept me hanging on and longing for more! Hank never really understood how this beautiful and mysterious woman could fall for him, but she did. And when William Stryker turned him into a blue monster... they just drifted apart. Their relationship got to a destructive point, where Hank couldn't believe that Ororo still cared for him. They loved each other far more to be able to live with the guilt of causing each other harm. I was so-so pissed that they didn't work with this in the live action movie (click here to read my review!). I was so excited when I heard that they were going to cast Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand and yet, beside a mild blush from the part of Ororo there was nothing. Damn you movie!

3) Hulk

The love that Bruce Banner has for Betty Ross is something that always keeps me going. The hope that there is such a love that beats illnesses, near madness, distance and literally everybody's disapproval... it's magical. Bruce is an incredible character, a true inspiration to me. He is one of the weakest people and yet when human, he is the strongest with his heart and mind. I loved their love in the live action movies (click here to read my review!) as well as the Ultimate Avengers cartoon. People don't care much for the Hulk, because in that state we all know that he is invincible... he is sort of like Superman, but I am touched by the fact that even if he loses his mind in that state, his heart still clears his vision: he could never hurt Betty.

2) Mr. Fantastic

I have fallen in love with his version in the Fantastic Four movies (click here to read my review!), after that I started reading Ultimate X4, in which there are a couple of versions of Reed Richards. The first is a very young version who wears his glasses and lab coat all the time. The other one is a bit older, with the grey hair - this version starred in a cartoon in 2006 called Fantastic Four - but he still looks young because his hair is longer. So far I liked every version of him. I don't want any mistakes made, it is not his special power that keeps me interested... I find his elasticity to be incredibly creepy! I like his mind, his heart, the way he looks! He is hot! Also there is a storyline in which we discover that he and Hank Pym are great friends. I liked that. Cameos and overlapping of stories always makes me curious and interested. The clash of such great scientists... it was sort of like Bruce Banner meeting Tony Stark in the Avengers movie (click here to read my review!). Yeah, I'm hot for scientists!

Before I go on, there are a few runner ups I didn't mention because I find them to have become incredible clichés nowadays. First is Iron Man, who would've shared a spot with Captain America (3). Second is Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, who appeared in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic and I fell for his childish cuteness. He would've shared a spot with Iceman (6). And finally Daredevil, who is just as mysterious as Mystique (10) and he has a Batman like charm to him that melts a woman's heart. I've heard the rights for the movie version of him has gone back to Marvel, so let's hope they will sell him to the right people now! And here it comes, my favorite character:

1) Colossus

You probably didn’t see that coming, and in that case I'm glad because I did mean to surprise you all! Colossus, Peter Rasputin, was born in the Soviet Union and has later been recruited by Xavier in his new X-Men team. His ability is to transform all of his body into steel. If you want to compare him, the closest superheroes are the Thing and the Hulk. There was also a miniseries in which it was established that his family is the descendant of the real life historical figure Grigori Rasputin.

I'm attracted to muscles, I have to admit, and also he is one of the most interesting characters in the Ultimate X-Men comics. He has a love story with Shadowcat, although in the live action movie this story line wasn't used at all. The actor who portrayed him was Daniel Cudmore, who I think was a good choice body wise, but I fear that they didn't give him any lines because he wasn't the best of actors back then.
Peter has this introverted and shy personality. He is also an artist. In a storyline his mind was wiped and he didn't remember any of the X-Men: he just painted. After his return to the team, he and Shadowcat get together but they can't seem to make it work. He has one the biggest hearts in the whole X-Men team. He is sort of a big brother you want to confide in and let him make you hot cocoa in the middle of the night. I hope he gets a storyline in one of the new live action movies, I really hope so!

I do admit that I change my favorites often, however one constant has always been Colossus. If the new Thor: The Dark World movie comes out, I'll probably change my mind again, same with Iron Man 3 or Captain America: Winter Soldier. As a matter of fact The Amazing Spiderman (click here to read my review!) just reminded me that I love Spidey too. So, yeah, hard choice but Colossus is always up there!

That's gotta do it. Not sure when I'll get the chance to write my next review, I'm going away for a while and I  am also currently working on my book, not to mention that there are only three weeks till my third semester at university starts, so I really gotta take care of a couple of things sooner or later. Make sure to check out my previous reviews, that's gotta do it for Marvel's best and brightest, coming soon with Dark Horse and DC!

What's Next On My Marvel List? (Games) Avengers Alliance

So you might not know this game... actually I'm pretty sure you don't. It is a facebook game, but it belongs to the good ones. Every facebook game has the same structure: you need friends and money to be able to get anywhere. Personally I like the games at which you can advance without your friends. You see, my friends don't care for games... it sucks really because it is a big part of who I am. Another thing is comics: I love comics. But you already knew that if you scrolled down or if you had been following my posts lately (or simply looked at the header!). So, if you only have 1 other friend who plays the same game, you can consider yourself lucky. After I saw the Avengers (click here for my review!), I was longing for something, anything that had a connection with Marvel, and then I saw a friend of mine's wall and it said "XYZ was awarded numbers point in Marvel: Avengers Alliance. Play now!"

CLICK!

At the start of the game Nick Fury tells you that you are an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. You can create your own agent, give it a name and choose a sex. I wasn't particularly original, I called mine "Agent Hill", although the character Maria Hill is featured in the game. I still feel eternally stupid about that.
Afterwards you meet Iron Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye: they become part of your team. When you reach a certain level you are given a choice to choose from 5 heroes who will also join your team: Iron Fist, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Invisible Woman and She-Hulk.

From then on you need to earn Command points to be able to recruit more heroes. The more famous a character is, the more points you'll need to get them. To achieve these points you need to either hit the enemies hard or defeat big bosses after which a little lottery appears with 9 items, out of which 3 are Command points.
There are 10 chapters to the story and each chapter has 5+1 levels. The extra level can only be played if you have that special character that is needed to defeat the boss. Each level has a team-up, which means that the mini and the big boss has to be defeated with their help (it also gives you a taste of what the other characters are capable of, so you can decide which one to get!). When finishing these levels you get a rating which is translated into stars: there is a total of 5 stars that can be achieved for each level. At the first you get 250 silvers; at the second 1000 silvers; at the third 100 XP; at the fourth 1 gold and finally at the fifth 5 Command points.
On of the most important things you need is S.H.I.E.L.D. points. You can't really do anything without these. You can receive these from friends who'll send you them for free. Biggest problem is that you can only get 50 gifts a day and these points are needed for everything: advancing your heroes in levels, research and so on. Another way is by visiting your friends' maps and collecting them from there. Your heroes only get stronger if you advance them to the next level and besides the points you'll also need money. After every combat won you get some silvers, or by selling useless items you achieve during fights, but you can also get them from sending your characters to remote missions from the helicarrier.
As you advance you get the chance to research many items which then you can then buy cheaply at the store. As I said, you need S.H.I.E.L.D. points and money for these researches. These take up from 30 minutes to two days, but after choosing one you don't need to touch it until it is finished.
The best part of the game and also the worst one, is that you have an energy line that is used up after 6 battles. This means that you must turn the game off for a couple of hours for the bar to refill. This is a great opportunity to send your heroes away to earn XP for themselves and money for you. However, if you haven't gotten tired of the game yet, you can always play PVP - combat against other players all around the world (as in people who are far wiser then my friends!).

Anyway, the free items are pretty cool and discovering you heroes and the joy of beating the bad guys is overwhelming. I have been playing for almost four months now and I enjoy every second of it. I have completed all of the first three chapters so far (5 stars on all 5 levels). And have recruited most of the heroes I love and cherish. The more heroes, the more stronger you are in PVP, so I am looking to get as many well known and strong characters as possible.
Also, there are Special Ops! available during which you can achieve limited items. But it is impossible to finish it without friends so make sure you get them to play the game with you and soon! All the other things you should find out yourself - if I got you interested so far, trust me, you won't be disappointed a bit!

If you liked my review, check the game out! Click on the link! http://play.dm/d001M

A List Of The Best Marvel Cartoons

The Invincible Iron Man

This story is very similar to the origin story depicted in the movie version of Iron Man (click here to read my review!). Tony Stark is captured, as they want to use him to resurrect the clay army of the Chinese emperor, however Tony uses this opportunity to come up with a suit that he will later refer to as Iron Man.
This movie came out around the same time that the live action was announced and seeing that I didn't know much about Tony's origins, only about his brief encounters with the Avengers in the Ultimates comic series, I was quite curious to get to know more about him. If you don't know much about him, but you'd like to, this movie is perfect for you. And on the plus side, instead of that dreadful terrorist cave they force Tony into in the movie, here he is in China.(no offence!). It is a pretty good movie, trust me it is worth your time.

Thor: Tales Of Asgard

This cartoon tells us of Thor and Loki’s early adventures: before Loki tried to turn on him and they both simply tried to achieve their father’s approval. They head to face off the ice giants to get a sword that in ancient times belonged to the Asgardians.
This movie really is moving, because if you have seen the movie version of Thor you will probably belong to the 70% of people who preferred the first act that was placed in Asgard. I know how you feel, it truly is the best third of the movie – and it makes you wish for more. You really are curious to see how Thor and Loki grew up, about their brotherly bond, how they would’ve given each other’s life for the other one day: and they do. This movie is really great, it might even work as a prequel for the live action movie and if you care for superheroes you should definitely check this one out!

Ultimate Spider-Man

It is physically impossible to find a picture of this series because it bares the same title as the comic it was based on. I myself only read this comic and it is that way that I became acquainted with Spider-Man. However, seeing that this version is my very favorite, I really like the cartoon. Not only does portray Peter perfectly, but also it gives you a reason why Aunt May doesn’t notice he is always away; and every other episode features another superhero: he met Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk and so on. This series also features Nick Fury and Agent Coulson – the movie versions – with Clark Gregg voicing the animated Coulson as well! Not only that, but Spidey here already works for Fury and as a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. he is the head of a group of young heroes that features Luke Cage and Iron Fist among others. And plus with all the awesomeness the episodes feature a janitor in Peter's school who looks like and is voiced by Stan Lee. It is great addition to all the cameos he had in the live action movies.
I friend of mine didn’t like it, I don’t really know why, but I believe that it is worth a look if you feel that you lack in Spidey nowadays.

Hulk vs. Wolverine

I’ve come across this cartoon when I was trying to satisfy my hunger for Marvel heroes and I must say: it delivered pretty well! Wolverine, as he says – I’m the best at what I do, but what I do isn’t very nice – is called in to hunt down a monster that lives in the woods. He does so only to encounter a little nerdy scientist. It is only then that he discovers that this scientist is the monster himself. But this was no accident; the bad guys are trying to get a sample from the Hulk’s blood to create their own versions of him. Wolverine of course saves the day.
This little cartoon is really great because it involves a meeting between these two iconic figures without the involvement of the X-Men and/or the Avengers. It is also here that I first got acquainted with Dead Pool and gotta say: it was love at first sight. He is a really great character! That said, this cartoon as I have found has another episode that features Hulk vs. Thor. I have not seen that, even though I might check it out, but after seeing their showdown in the live action version of Avengers (click here to read my review!) I really don’t think I’m going to encounter any new ideas in it, but I don’t want to judge, after all I have not seen it. Have you? Let me know if it’s worth checking out under in the comments section!

Ultimate Avengers

Oh boy… I love this movie. It’s just wonderful! It begins with Captain America fighting the nazis and finding out that they have help from aliens, only to fall into sea and being frozen. S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking for him, because the serum that was used on him was destroyed and he is the only specimen. But Bruce Banner, a scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to control the Hulk and that is why he only conducts experiments on himself instead of creating other super soldiers. He wants to procure a safe future for him and his love Dr. Betty Ross. However, even though Captain America is recovered, the threat isn't near over and there is a need for a group of super heroes to protect our planet: Captain, Black Widow, Iron Man, Thor, Janet Pym aka Wasp and her husband Hank Pym aka Antman/Giantman. But will they be able to work as a team? Or have things changed too much for the Captain?

I always loved this version because Hank Pym is a total asshole. Not only in this, also in the comics it was based on. There is even a story line where he hits his wife! It fantastically creates this contrast that a superheroe doesn't have to be the kindest and most caring person in the world. It kind of takes the alcoholic Tony Stark to a whole new level. Or think about Bruce Banner, one of the most shy and nice person in the Marvel universe and yet his Hulk personality doesn't resemble any of that aside his affection for Betty. So this character is really amazing to me because it gives a more adult perspective and a behind the scenes of the heroes. This cartoon doesn't take it as far as the comic, but it gives you a pretty good impression of a Hank Pym that isn't so cool no matter his powers. CHECK IT OUT!!!

Ultimate Avengers II

The team is back together as a friend from Africa arrives to ask for their help. Although there was success in the battle in the first movie, the enemy seemed to have returned to the battlefield. There is a blooming romance between Captain and Black Widow, while Bruce is as miserable as ever: he lives prisoned in a glass circle conducting his little researches. But is the enemy too strong? Will all of the Avengers succeed?
I love both of these movies because it shows so much with just a couple of words. First of all I love the relationship between Bruce and Betty. Secondly I awfully enjoy the 21st centurion roughness of Black Widow in comparison to the knight-in-shining-armor style of Captain. It also brings another perspective onto Hank Pym: his story arch escalates. Not to mention that sincerely I get awfully tired of these heroes fighting in and destroying New York city... I mean I know that they aren't coming to Hungary any time soon and also the Black Panther who joins the team on this mission is from Africa, but still: at least they are not in the US anymore! And no offence but just like Kevin Smith said in his Smodcast that he doesn't care for other cities being tore down the same way I got tired of New York being destroyed. I mean, give it a break, does it have to be the center of every single attack? You know there are far more people living in other parts of the world! But that aside, this movie still holds up pretty good so make sure you look it up!

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Now, I did start to watch Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes, but I didn't like it very much. It is basically the retelling of all the cartoons I mentioned above, and not in a better way. I didn’t like Tony Stark’s voice – which would’ve been fine if Robert Downey Jr. hadn’t shown us what he really is supposed to sound like. I've found Thor to be incredible irritating, seeing that his Asgardian ways were supposed to already be more human like, but they are not. His politeness is just... yeah, irritating. Not to mention that I love romance! Where is the romance? And Hawkeye looks terrible... he is a strong buff guy who is also smart, but here he just looks like a nerd who put on a purple costume. Two things I did enjoy: Nick Fury. This version is basically the mash up of the old Caucasian and the new African-American version. He has the eye patch, a nice set of hair which is becoming gray with age just above his ears. Another thing I liked is Hank Pym, aka Antman/Giantman. Although I love his asshole portrayal in the Avengers cartoon, this cuddly cute version of him was also plenty entertaining: you also finally understand how Janet could fall in love with him in the first place. Other than that is it also a bit controversial, seeing that the Avengers don’t want anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. and consider Fury to be an enemy... not sure where that is headed, but I also don’t care so I stopped watching it. The theme song is awesome, so make sure you check that out! But other than that, I really don’t think it is worth your time.

Next Avengers: The Heroes Of Tomorrow

This is a wonderful little tale of the children of the Avengers who have been kept secret in a bubble that Tony Stark created. In the future the Avengers are going to meet their destiny at the hands of a mad man, and in order to protect their children, they entrust them with Tony who keeps them safe until they have head enough and demand explanations of their parents’ whereabouts and the outside world.
I don’t want to give away much, because I truly wish for you to see it. It is a really great and touching movie and it is definitely among my 5 favorite Marvel cartoons of all time. It is about heroes discovering their true identity and the wisdom their parents left for them. Make sure you look it up!

What's Next On My Marvel List? (Movies) Thor and Ghost Rider

Thor 

The God of Thunder is sent to Earth after disobeying his father's rules. But just as he comes acquainted with the curious species that the human kind is, back on his planet his half-brother Loki, the God of Mischief, is trying to take over their home. He, after finding out that his father has lied to him since he could remember, realizes his hunger for power and his jealousy over his brother Thor's right for the throne can't be suppressed anymore. Loki takes over just as Thor gives up trying to get back home. Loki, set on destroying his brother for good, sends the Destroyer to Earth to kill Thor, but this only triggers his true self and awakens his hammer which help him in defeating it. Thor is needed back home, which means that he must leave behind a girl, Jane, a scientist who has been trying to understand the universe for years now - Thor representing the key for that. Back home Thor has to destroy Asgard's transporter in order to stop Loki's plans, but this results in losing Loki too to the vast space. Unsure on how to return back to Earth, Thor is set to wait to see Jane again, until the Avengers.

Thoughts? I watched this movie in fake 3D, because they wouldn't show it in 2D with the original dubbing - and I did not want to see it in Hungarian! Therefore I had to suffer through an already dark movie with (basically) sunglasses: I couldn't see shit during his fight with the ice giants! That aside, I really liked the movie. First off I've heard that Chris Hemsworth's brother Liam Hemsworth had auditioned for the role too, but in the end it went to Chris. Honestly I am glad about that, because although Liam is a very charismatic fellow with great abs and charm, he would've been to young to play both Natalie Portman's love interest and Tom Hiddleston's older brother. I wouldn't mind seeing him play Thor in a prequel that is set solely in Asgard, but he wasn't good for this movie in particular. Joe Vargas, aka Angry Joe (click here to see his reviews!) said that just because Kenneth Branagh didn't screw up a comic based movie, that doesn't make him exceptional. I can agree with that, but let us be clear that Thor can be incredible boring... he can! I did not know about him until I saw him in the Avengers cartoons. And although I got myself a couple of cartoons that feature him, I still don't care for him. I loved this movie because it makes him interesting. You get to see him grow from a spoiled little boy to a grown man able to take on his responsibilities. You also get to see him fall in love; to find someone who is more important then himself, someone he can care for and even give his life for. The movie has a wonderful twist that you don't see coming, assuming it will only follow all the other clichés, I don't want to spoil it, but every time a movie surprises me, they get two thumbs up! Not to mention that the cameo of Hawkeye was a really good move in order to establish him for the Avengers. Altogether the movie has beautiful visuals, it has a couple of really great jokes and is a very good origin movie. Make sure you look it up before the sequel arrives!

Ghost Rider

Yes, yes I did like it, I like EVERY comic movie! Get it through your head so we can avoid these useless sad moments where you barf all over my opinion and just read what I have to say!

Johnny Blaze is a teenager who is given the chance to save his sick father: he has to sign a contract with Mephistopheles who will remove his dad's lung cancer if he gives away his soul and one day, when he is needed, he will obey to his commands. Johnny signs the paper and all seems well, except his father still loses his life in a motor accident. Johnny, afraid of the consequences or having to choose again leaves his girlfriend behind and starts a new life as a stunt motorcyclist. He mostly does this to test how many things he can survive before he falls to his death, but we all know why he is alive. One day Roxanne, the girl he left behind shows up again and while trying to get her back Mephistopheles arrives as well. Johnny is told that he must perform his duties and it is then that he is transformed into the Ghost Rider: a skeleton on fire that uses chains as his weapon. It seems that the Rider knows no boundaries and destroys everyone - even someone who cheated on a test. But Mephistopheles needs him to fight off his own son Blackheart, who seeks his father's power. Johnny finds a way to defeat Blackheart and tells Mephitopheles and he will keep this power to fight evil and save the innocent.

Thoughts? Nicolas Cage gets all kinds of bad reviews, I don't care for them. I really like him. I have never read a Ghost Rider comic book and yet I've found a way to enjoy the movie. Although the corpses are eternally disgusting and the villain's henchmen made me have nightmares for several weeks, the story is still pretty damn good. Are there plot holes in it? Of course. Did it have a couple of silly scenes? Plenty. Was it visually awesome? You bet! The rider looks great. His transformation keeps you locked onto the screen like nothing else and even the chemistry with Eva Mendes had me convinced. I don't care to read why people disliked it, mostly because even if someone writes a normal comment, by the 5th it becomes a piss fight that doesn't talk about the movie, so I'll just keep it to myself. But the 5.2 grading on imdb is really off, trust me!

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance

Johnny is in hide-out, he is scared of turning seeing that he cannot control his Rider self. But he is approached by a believer saying that a boy is in grave danger of being used by Mephistopheles, who for some reason in this movie is called Roarke, so we'll just go with that one (it's easier to type!). Johnny sets out to find him, and although he does so for the price of getting his soul back, turns out the good guys they trusted the boy with want to kill him before Roarke can use him for more evil. However, after gaining his soul back, Johnny is incapable of saving the boy and he winds up with Roarke just the same. Turns out that just as he gave up his soul for his father, the boy's mother made a deal too with Roarke - he is the boy's father. In order to defeat Roarke and to stop him from using the boy for evil, the boy gives Johnny back his Rider alter ego. They defeat him and Johnny finally finds out who he is: the Rider is and Angel who was tricked to go to hell and being oppressed he turned to the angry spirit of vengeance. But Johnny finally manages to channel it's true self and use the Angel's power for good.

Thoughts? My last sentence: Johnny already did use this power for good all throughout the movie, so what the hell? But, that is not the biggest question here. How did this movie get made? The first one received pretty bad reviews. One day I saw the trailer the next week I saw Nicolas Cage on Saturday Night Live promoting the movie and I was shocked that I knew nothing about it and it was already playing in the theatre! Since I got pretty scared during the first one I didn't want to see this in the theatre, but I was looking forward to it since I liked the first one. First off Mephistopheles is played by someone else, and thank god for that! Ciarán Hinds does a far better job at being the Devil than the silly Peter Fonda. In addition the CGI is wonderful in this one. You wouldn't think that a skeleton can show emotions but he can. It's really great and I also liked it that he had a bit of a burned skull instead of a nicely washed white one. In addition there wasn't a love story and I preferred that since this movie is more about him discovering himself and understanding that he is given an opportunity to do good here and not look at life as a waste or a curse. That said, biggest problem is that I'm not a believer and if a movie has the Devil in it, it is bound to have God as well and I didn't care for those scenes, even though they make up 2/3 of the movie. Also Johnny has these weird scenes where he laughs hysterically for no reason... that was a bit off. And finally the villain he has to fight looks ridiculous! He couldn't scare nobody. BUT the biggest problem of all was that all through the movie I was sure that this was written by the same people who wrote The Incredible Hulk (click here to read my review!)! He hides, tries not to turn, afraid to hurt the one he loves, he finally gets rid of the curse, has to get it back to save the day. WHAT THE HELL? Literally nobody was bothered by that? Seriously... And also it seems that he can control the Rider self all through the movie even though he said he can't. This problem also occurred in the Avengers where Bruce seemed to be completely aware of what he was doing, how?

The movie is quite good for an action film, I wouldn't really call it a sequel, as in it has nothing to do really with the first one, but it has a pretty cool recap at the beginning that tells you all you need to know. But you do need some sort of knowledge about the Ghost Rider to enjoy it. I wouldn't call it the worst one, nor the best. Check it out!

What's Next On My Marvel List? (Games) Marvel vs. Capcom

This one is going to be quite short, however it is among my favorite games so I definitely want to make sure I mention it!

This game has a quite long origin, but the most important step towards it was in 1996, when the X-Men vs. Street Fighter game was released, unleashing the potential of the Marvel heroes encountering more and more Capcom characters. It was originally an arcade game, but due to its success it was later released for other consoles. The story portrays Ryu meeting Cyclops, and then the X-Men who are interested in the incredible force he possesses.

Just one year later Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997) was released. Like the previous one this featured combats, and in addition to all the features introduced and the secret characters you could get, the player could now summon their partner to perform one of their special moves without changing their currently-controlled character. The arcade version of this game received great reviews, but the versions released for other consoles had mixed reviews.
One year later Capcom prolonged the list of known heroes beyond the Street Fighters: Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash Of Super Heroes (1998). I have played with almost every installment of this series, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. My brother always loved Mega Man, and although the first version had all the awesome X-Men in it, this one had Venom. Just think about it, Venom vs. Mega Man? The levels of awesome and epicness were through the roof!
And then, oh boy, it is afterwards that the best one of the series came out, with over 50 playable characters, among them the most iconic ones, like Doctor Doom, Thanos, M. Bison, Hulk and even Sentinels!
People always love mash-ups and cameos - I know because I do too - and sometimes you can't even begin to imagine things, because you'll be disappointed if it doesn't come true. For example, all this talk about a Justice League movie. Even if all the money and the crew comes together, it'll be at least 3 years until something gets done and you know that they are going to screw up something in the casting, it's just bound to happen! And even if they don't, the DC movies just don't use their money properly. If this Arrow series is headed somewhere, you'd think that they will use him for the movie, right? But no talk of Green Arrow so far in the movie... assuming that there is a movie at all! Several Justice League scripts have surfaced with no luck so far. I do hope that something useful will come out of it. But you see, don't you? I am already coming up with ideas and I will be majorly disappointed if my dreams don't come true, and yet they probably won't because nobody cares about my opinion. Or think about this: an actress by the name of Angie Harmon in an interview with Conan O'Brien said that she would love to play She-Hulk. Now she is literally the spitting image of her and she would be awesome for it. And consider, all previous Hulk movies have somehow failed - if indeed they wish to make one with Mark Ruffalo, it could easily be the story-line of how Bruce's cousin Jennifer got the same gamma infection as him from a blood transfusion. It would be quite awesome, but I don't dare think about it, because even if they do make one, they probably won't cast her. That is way these wonderful mash ups, just like this game are a dream come true.
Anyway, back to our original point, after the last game in 98' only a new installment came out: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000). After ten years finally a new sequel was released: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate Of Two Worlds (2011). At the International San Diego Comic-Con that year they announced that an updated version with the title Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom would come out soon. These all featured some new, some old characters and just this year in September the newest part of the saga is coming out for the X-Box and the PlayStation 3: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins. I can't wait for it!

If you get a chance make sure to check it out, it is truly an awesome game, which I might have mentioned before :D

What's Next On My Marvel List? (Movies) Spider-Man Trilogy

I want to make this one short because I believe that these movies have been dissected enough, however I do wish to state my opinion, to let us dig into:

Spider-Man

Peter Parker is a young boy who really only has one friend, Harry Osborn, a spoiled rich kid who is desperately seeking his dad’s approval, Norman Osborn, which unfortunately only Peter receives. During a class trip to the museum Peter gets bitten by a spider whose DNA has been modified. Peter wakes up the next morning with basic spider genes. He has a spider sense that predicts when harm is about to be done to him; his skin is altered making him capable of walking and hanging on to any kind of surface and also make his own spider web. His vision is healed and he also gains extra strenght. But when he tries out himself, his proud is hurt and his Uncle Ben pays the prize for it with his life. The anger over losing him results in him fighting crime and protecting the people of his city. In the end, the fear of hurting the ones he loves results in him becoming distant and estranged to them.

Spider-Man 2

Peter is now in college, still trying to fight criminals, but because of it he loses touch with his friends and is about to fail his classes. His constant doubt about who he is supposed to be results in losing his powers. He tries out life as if he were nobody special, but the constant pain of seeing others getting hurt is something he can’t stand. He was given a chance to help them and he will live with it. His enemy is Dr. Octavius, who’s robotic arms control his mind. Another problem is Mary Jane, who is about to get married to J. Jonah Jamison’s son. Although Harry finds out what Peter does in his spare time, the movie ends with Peter helping Dr. Octavius come to his senses and save Mary Jane.

Spider-Man 3

Peter and MJ are finally happy, no more secrets between them. A meteor hits and a strange black substance climbs out of it and possesses Peter. He becomes darker, starting from his costume all the way to his heart and mind. He constantly hurts the people around him and abuses of their care and trust. A new rival arrives at the Daily Bugle, Eddie Brock, who starts to blame Parker for every misfortune in his life. Finally his prayers are answered when Venom falls onto him as Peter fights it off. He gains this incredible power that not even Spider-Man can match, not to mention that he teams up with the Sandman. Spider-Man is helped by Harry and he turns to his old self to save Mary Jane.

I liked the first movie. Of course, in the comic Peter wasn’t able to make his own web, but in the span of this story, I prefered the decision they made in giving him this extra power. I also liked Kirsten Dunst’s performance. The way she loved Peter without him noticing was really life like. Boys are always that stupid. In this case Peter was so blinded by his love that he didn’t see that MJ was feeling the same way. The Goblin, if you rewatch the movie now, is quite hilarious. Undoubtedly the first movie has one of the dumbest villains in the history of comic based movies. Willem Dafoe was a great Norman Osborn, but my vision of the Goblin isn’t quite like the one they portrayed in the movie. None the less, it is a great origin story, and it only has a brief scene with spiders in it, so it gets a big thumbs up in comparison with The AmazingSpider-Man (click here to read my review!).

The second one has one of my favorite scenes of all time. MJ finally discovers that Peter is Spider-Man, and understands that the only reason why he was so absent in her life is due to his duty to protect the people of the city. It gives her tremendous pain that they can’t be together, and realizes that in the end, people will kidnap her just the same, they might as well be together. However that one scene where Peter tells her that they can’t be together always tore my heart apart… that sincere expression on her face is truly beautiful. This movie also has one of the best fight scenes: Spider-Man fights Dr. Octavius on the train and afterwards he loses his mask and the people on the train are moved that this young boy would fight for them everyday – risking his own life. Most importantly I loved J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jamison! I don’t know if you are at all familiar with the cartoon Ultimate Spider-Man (review coming up soon!), but in that he is also the voice of Jamison. He made this iconic character magnificient. He is the man you love to hate! Thankfully they haven’t rushed his character in the new franchise, instead they gave the spidey-hater role to Gwen’s dad, which fit perfectly; so good job!

The third was by far the worst one. It was bad for several reasons, but to be completely honest with you I never took the time to find out why others disliked it, however I would like to tell you what my problems were. I felt that Uncle Ben’s corpse had been kicked into enough times during the movies; making the story line of Sandman being his original killer completely and utterly pointless. The villain will not be more interesting if you tie him to a story line from the previous movies; no, the villain is interesting because Spider-Man fights him/her! That is it! He can still have an origin story, that’s fine, but making him something that is physically quite impossible was just a bit too much. Think of Dr. Octavius: he was revealed to us during a simple scene where Peter talks to him over tea and we get to find out more about him then about the Sandman in a whole movie and you are honestly touched by his sacrifice in destroying his whole life’s work. And I love Alfred Molina, truly great casting choice!

Another perfect example of a good villain is Harry Osborn. Harry was presented as this proud kid who is actually quite tortured because he feels he can never make his dad proud. Just when the two get to bond, Norman is killed during his fight with Spider-Man. Harry, convinced that it was Spider-Man who killed him, starts training himself – gaining power from the anger he feels over the betrayal of Peter, who seems to think of this vigilante as a hero rather than a killer. Being revealed that Peter is Spider-Man is like gasoline on fire: having lost Oscorp and MJ for good, Harry practically loses it. He then discovers his father’s weapons and mask and sets out to fight Spider-Man as the new Green Goblin. He gets defeated almost immeadiately but he is given a chance to fight again, but on the good side. Harry basically is the most tortured character and all of his moves have obvious reasons and motivations behind them. You feel for this guy, even if all along you know that Spider-Man never killed Norman and that you are constantly pissed, wishing Peter would just tell him… but still you understand why things got the way they did and when Harry finally finds closure you can’t help but feel happy for him.

An example of a really bad villain, besides Sandman of course, is Venom. Oh boy… Where do I even begin?

Let’s introduce Dr. Curt Connors in the second movie, let’s lay the groundwork to bring in the Lizard. Let us also bring in Captain John Jamison, an astronaut who actually has the chance to bring Venom to Earth. Then please, and this is the most important one: FORGET THIS COMPLETELY AND MAKE UP A WHOLE MOVIE THAT MAKES NO SENSE! Bring in four characters you have NEVER seen before, just because they appear in the comics, give them no back story at all and no character development whatsoever. Also make sure that the damsel in distress gets kidnapped for the 100th time now! You’d think that after the second time she would at least buy herself a maze!

I feel that they wanted to please a lot of people, while completely losing track of what their already existing fan base would’ve liked to see. Yes, I do admit that Venom is by far the favorite villain of all time – and I understand that they thought about bringing him in. But there was no need for Sandman or Gwen for that. Harry had his ark which they didn’t forget about and I was grateful. But what drives me mad is that they did in fact lay the ground work for Venom, and then that stupid meteor arrives... Do you know humans? They go crazy over these things – are you telling me that a meteor hits in Central Park and NOBODY gives a shit? Why didn’t this have any consequences?

Honestly I liked the third movie when I saw it, but ever since then I hate it immensily and never wish to see it again. During one of the field trips we took in high school, on the buses on our way to Paris, I was quite sleep deprived and finally managed to fall asleep, when I woke up to the sound of this stupid movie shouting and pumping from the speakers – while the day before when we watched Mamma Mia!, they kept turning the volume down... thanks, thanks a lot! So no, my memories of this movie aren’t really good. I always liked Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock, and they cast pretty good people for the roles and didn’t really use them for anything. Anyway the movie pretty much goes this way:

Peter discovers the Sandman killed Uncle Ben - Peter hates the Sandman.

Harry thinks he killed his dad - Harry hates Spider-Man.

Peter defeats Eddie at the Daily Bugle - Eddie hates Peter.

Peter kisses Gwen - Mary Jane hates Peter.

Peter uses Gwen to hurt MJ - Gwen hates Peter.

It’s really stupid and in the end nothing is really resolved. I’d say that you should watch it, because no matter how you look at it: it was the end of a great franchise and people need closure. If you watch all the three movies together hopefully the second one will cancel out the silliness of the first and the dumbness of the third. In the end James Franco makes it worth your while!

Until the next items on my list!