80's X-Trends in 'Apocalypse'

Last week it was announced that Bryan Singer is officially going to direct the next installment of the franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse.  This has many fans like myself cheering with relief.  Shortly after that announcement it was also released that this film would take place almost ten years after X-Men: Days of Future Past, which means the X-Men are heading to the 80's.  

After seeing DOFP I feel like this franchise is back on track and heading in the right direction with Singer at the helm.  The 80's will be a great era to explore, not to mention all the great things that came out of X-Men comics in the 1980's.  Here are five things that were in X-Men during that time that I'd like to see in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Wolverine's Brown Costume

"Well what would you prefer?  Yellow spandex?"  Words uttered by Cyclops to Wolverine as they suited up in their black leather uniforms in the first X-Men film back in 2000.  Since then the modern day X-team has stuck with black, but we did get a glimpse of the brown Wolverine costume in The Wolverine as a deleted scene.  I prefer it over Logan's classic yellow, and now that its been teased please put Hugh Jackman in the outfit just once!

Storm's Mohawk

Nothing was more a staple of X-Men in the 1980's than Storm's Mohawk.  It screamed modern fashion back in the day and has been talked about ever since.  It's become so legendary that Storm is currently sporting this Mohawk again in the present comics.  I think it says, "mess with me and I'll light your ass up."

Archangel

At the end of DOFP we not only saw Apocalypse but also his four horsemen in the distance.  Several X-Men go on to become part of the horsemen crew like Sunfire, Gambit, and most famously, Angel.  X3 wasted not only Ben Foster's acting talent but the character of Angel.  After becoming the horsemen, Death, Warren Worthington III is a torched soul who is must constantly battle his dark side.  It was one the first times the X-Men had to battle one of their own and it was great to read.

The Morlocks

Speaking of Archangel, Warren only accepted Apocalypse's dark offer because his wings were ripped off by Sabertooth during the Mutant Massacre.  The Morlocks are mutants who live in hiding because most of them can not pass for human.  Mr. Sinister sends his Marauders to the Morlock tunnels to kill them because he deems them unworthy.  The X-Men, along with Thor, intervene but all does not end well.  The Morlocks are just a great way to show the other side of being a mutant.  If mutants are the ugly stepchildren of superheroes then the Morlocks are the ugly stepchildren that are never allowed to see what "outside" is.

Nathan Summers

Yes, Cable did make his appearance in 1990, but little baby Nathan was born in 1986.  Since then Nathan has spent his life time-traveling to fight Apocalypse.  X-Men: Apocalypse would be great place to get a glimpse of Cable.  He's one of the coolest mutants with a great mythology that people will love seeing on screen.

Comic-Related News.....From Last Week

Greetings Muggles!  I'm about to unload on you the comic-related stories from last week that I was most excited to hear about.  I hope you are too!

DEADPOOL MOVIE GETS FAST TRACKED:  Fan boys have been drooling for a Deadpool film for years now, and there has been no bigger advocate than Ryan Reynolds, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A recent test footage revealed that a Deadpool movie is in high demand so last week Fox set a Feb 12, 2016 release date for the Deadpool solo film.
To be honest I'm not really a big Deadpool fan.  He's pretty funny, but Marvel waaay overused him when he became popular by putting him in every book; just like they did with Spider-Man and Wolverine.  The Merc with a Mouth is pretty obscene, and pretty violent given that he's a killer assassin.  Some have cried that the film must be rated R for it be done justice.  While I agree with this I don't for a second believe it won't be PG-13 like every other superhero film to bring in the biggest audience/money.
Tim Miller, who directed the test footage, is also on board to direct the film.  No word if Reynolds will reprise his role as Wade Wilson, but seeing how he also starred in the "leaked" test footage I'm sure it's only a matter of weeks before he is announced.  I'm just disappointed my favorite part of the character will probably be not mentioned in the film; the public mistaking him for Spider-Man because of their similar costume styles.  Below is a link to the Deadpool test footage on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CphFZGH5030

SUPERGIRL TV SERIES FLIES OVER TO CBS: A few weeks ago it was reported that Arrow and The Flash co-creator, Greg Berlanti, was developing a Supergirl TV series.  It appears CBS has picked up the series, which kind of surprised me.  Given that Berlanti was advocating this series I figured it'd end up on The CW with his other shows.  I'm sure we all even hoped it would help expand the DC/CW television universe even more.

I'm curious to see how this series will go given that there have been many different interpretation of the character since her appearance in 1959.  My favorite has been the version introduced by Jeph Loeb in 2004.  I will admit though I have yet to read the New 52 version since I'm not a fan of the current handling of Superman via New 52.  Either way, I'm just happy to see more comic book characters making their way onto more screens.

JARVIS ADDED TO AGENT CARTER:  We have to wait quite a few more months to see Hayley Atwell reprise her role as Agent Peggy Carter but we have learned that she'll be joined by Jarvis!  No, not Tony Starks artificial intelligence, the real Jarvis.  Actor James D'Arcy will play Edwin Jarvis, who, in the comics, was Tony Stark's butler but replaced by a machine in the films.  This kind of gives you the feeling that J.A.R.V.I.S. might have been help created by Edwin or perhaps leaves quite the impression on the right people to name a sophisticated computer program after him.

I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I quit watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. after three episodes.  I am, however, excited for Agent Carter because I really like the character.  We learned that in Captain America: The Winter Soldier Peggy helped start S.H.I.E.L.D. so I'm hoping that's what this show is all about.

 

SCOTT GLENN IS STICK: Remember the wise old man from Sucker Punch?  Well now he's play the wise old blind man in Netflix's upcoming Daredevil series.  Scott Glenn will play Stick, the sensei who teaches Matt Murdock to not only live with being blind, but use it as a weapon to fight crime.
I'm psyched for not only Daredevil, but what Marvel Studios is doing with Netflix as well.  Producers and film makers promise this will be a grittier and more dark Marvel world than the films.  I'm a fan of Daredevil and Iron Fist so I can't wait to see this all come out!

AMANDA PAYS RETURNS TO THE FLASH: I remember as a kid watching the 1990 Flash TV series.  I was too young to realize how campy it was but I remember Luke Skywalker played a villain.  In any event, I'm anxiously waiting for the new Flash series that premieres in less than a month, and glad to see the original Flash, John Wesley Shipp, will be on the show playing Barry Allen's father.  Now, another Flash alumni has just been added.  Amanda Pays will return to play Dr. Tina McGee.
In the comics Tina was around during the early Wally West days.  But in the 1990 series she helped Barry discover his powers and the gave him the means to use them to help rid Central City of bad guys.  Word has it instead of working for S.T.A.R. Labs though like in 1990 series she'll be working for a company competing against S.T.A.R. Labs in the new show.  Either way, I'm happy to see familiar faces.

Man of Steel v Arrow: Dawn of the 2 Justice Leagues

It was a typical Thursday night back in January 2007.  My friends and I had purchased some beer and pizza and were about to watch the newest episode of Smallville before heading out to our usual bar for some karoke.  On that Thursday night we were a little more excited that usual to watch Smallville. In this episode Clark was teaming up with Green Arrow, Impulse(Flash), Aquaman, and Cyborg in an episode called 'Justice'.  After twenty years of reading superhero comic books it was the first live-action Justice League I had ever seen.  I still haven't seen the TV movie done years ago, and I plan to keep it that way.  Skip ahead to present day. We are about to get two different Justice League teams within the next five years.  One on the small screen, and one on the big screen. But which one will be better?

 In it's second season, Arrow introduced Barry Allen, and even showed him being struck by lightening.  The show has already featured Black Canary and will bring in Ray Palmer, the future Atom, and Arsenal in season three.  Meanwhile, Barry is about to zoom over to his own Flash series and Firestorm is set to make an appearance.  This will make six Justice League members in The CW television universe that started on Arrow.  It was also announced that Arrow and The Flash co-creator, Greg Berlanti, is pitching a Supergirl series next.

 Over on the Warner Bros set another DC Comics team is slowly being assembled.  In 2016 the world will see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that will feature Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Victor Stone(Cyborg), and a rumored Aquaman.  Man of Steel director, Zach Snyder, is directing this film, and has already said he's directing a Justice League film that has not gotten a release date yet.  Most speculate though that the release of Justice League will not be too far off from Batman v Superman.

 WB and DC executives have already said that the television and film worlds will not connect like Marvel Studios is doing.  This means eventually audiences may have two Flashes, or two Barry Allen's, at the same time that have nothing to do with each other.  I bring up the Scarlet Speedster as an example because he is one of the dominant Justice League members just behind the Trinity, but with his own TV series about to debut, and hopefully be a hit, will he be featured in Snyder's upcoming film?  The smart thing would be to have another Flash besides Barry(such as Wally) in the film.  But so far evidence supports that Snyder and WB aren't that smart.  Besides the Flash, most of the other Arrow heroes are B to C stringers(love it) which wouldn't come to a fan boys mind when you name off their top five or seven key Justice League members. But given that Cyborg wasn't an official JL member till just a few years ago he wouldn't be on my A-team either. 

 What about Green Lantern?  The Ryan Reynolds film failed to start the DC Cinematic Universe so WB jumped off with Man of Steel.  But he's also another A-lister.  Do you just skip GL or replace him with another member of the Corps and give the Hal Jordan stench more time to dry out? By the time these questions in DC's film universe will be answered I feel like The CW will have already had their own Justice League multi-series crossover event.

I can't hide my opinion that I am way more excited for what is happening on my TV than at my local cinema.  As a big Superman fan I had quite a few issues with Man of Steel, Zach Snyder, and the vision of the DC Cinematic Universe so far.  Arrow creators are crafting a long narrative by getting to know the characters quite well. Meanwhile, Snyder and his film makers are just rushing to catch-up with Marvel Studios. 

I feel like WB still doesn't get why they've fallen behind in this comic book movie race.  The strength of the Marvel Media Universe is that everything is connected!  Bruce Banner can pop-up at the end of Iron Man 3, or Lady Sif can appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's all a pay-off for someone who follows it all.  I don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, if I did I would have enjoyed Captain America: The Winter Soldier that much more because of the tie-in and vice versa.  But I didn't have to catch the television series, or any other Marvel franchise movie, to enjoy Cap 2.  So why would I pay $12 to see another Flash when I already love the one I get for free on my TV? Minus the better special effects I'm sure it would only disappoint. Basically I'm saying what Marvel has done is brilliant.

 My hope is that Warner Bros has already answered all the questions I have posed in this article and I'm just going to eat my words later.  And while I am excited for comic book properties kicking ass in every medium, and seeing another a live-action Justice League back on my screens, I continue to be disappointed how Warner Bros is handling these modern day Gods in film.They are trying so hard to be different from Marvel that they are being different; they're sucking.  So for now, I'm with Team Arrow.

My Top 6 Lightsaber Duels

Last week starwars.com came out with their Top 10 Fights from the Star Wars live-action films.  This list seemed a little peculiar to me.  Not only did I disagree with spots certain fights fell on their countdown, but how some of their fights weren't lightsaber fights.

I will openly admit, the minute an actual lightsaber becomes available to sell to the public I will max out every credit card I have for it.  For me, my love of Star Wars has always been rooted in the Jedi mythology and ideology.  Sure I enjoy the spaceships and bounty hunters, but the Jedi(and Sith) are what has made me a life-long fan.  

So because of my quarrels with starwars.com's list I decided to make my own.  These choice are mainly based on emotional impact.  I think a fight, or any scene, is so much better when their is a history behind it, or high stakes at risk.  Since their are six films in the Star Wars saga I'm counting down My Top 6 Lightsaber Duels.

6) Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader (Episode IV: A New Hope)

It's the first ever lightsaber duel in history so it gets major points for that.  But when you look at the saga as a whole it's really quite epic.  20 years after Obi-Wan left his best friend for dead they meet again.  Their both off their game a little, but the scars from that day on Mustafar still seem fresh.  

In the end Obi-Wan gives up citing, "if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."  To this day I still ponder Obi-Wan's reasoning behind his surrender and have come up with three answers. He A) knew his sacrifice was the only way for Luke to escape 

B) knew he could serve Luke better by joining The Force or 

C) feared he would fail Luke as he did Anakin and would rather him seek Yoda to complete his training.

5)Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn vs Darth Maul (Episode I: The Phantom Menace)

Before Episode I was released George Lucas said that this will be the first time we get to see an actual Jedi in action.  In the original trilogy we saw an old man, a half-trained Jedi, and a half-machine Jedi.  This fight did not let down.  The duel starts with a door opening and Darth Maul behind it ready for a skirmish.  And when Qui-Gon says, "we'll handle this." You know some real sh*t is about to go down.  

Darth Maul brings out the double-edged lightsaber that makes every uber nerd in the audience wet themselves a bit.  The fight is long and far as Obi-Wan eventually watches his master fall.  Then, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul engage in a sword fight so fast and unreal our eyes could barely keep up with our brains as to how cool(yet short) it was.  

The finale of this fight does two key things.  It turns Obi-Wan into an apprentice who agrees with the council on Anakin's training, to a Jedi Knight who will see his mentor's dying wish fulfilled.  And as most Star Wars fans know, it isn't the end of Darth Maul.  Instead it sets up a great rivalry between Kenobi and Maul that will continue in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and hopefully beyond.

  4)Master Yoda vs Darth Sidious (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)

While Obi-Wan has been sent to deal with his former padawan Yoda decides to take on the Phantom Menance himself; Darth Sidious.  The rest of the Jedi are being slaughtered throughout the galaxy so Master Yoda makes an effort to stop the bloodshed at its source. 

The two start out with their lightsabers and end up going through the rage of Force powers such as throwing giant objects, Force pushes, and Force lightning.  It's a step-up from the Yoda/Dooku fight in Episode II, with the stakes even greater.  Sadly, Yoda flees knowing that he may not have what it takes to take down the Dark Lord of the Sith, but perhaps someday, someone will.  

3) Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

Let's rundown what Vader has done to Luke at this point in Episode V.  Luke thinks Darth Vader killed his father and his killed Obi-Wan, his mentor.  He has also captured his closest friends and tortured them, and plans to sell them to a bounty hunter.  And this is on top of killing millions, if not billions, of people throughout the galaxy.

Luke comes into this carbon freezing chamber looking for a fight, but only half ready.  He is outmatched, but still foolish enough to think he can win.  He is that consumed by hatred for this man.  Luckily, Luke is a little more spry then Obi-Wan in Episode IV so we get a decent fight.  But then, at the end of the battle, Vader drops the bomb.  "I am your father."  The idea blows up Luke's entire outlook on life.  The man he hates so much is his father.  Luke is so confused by this information he bails into a thousand foot drop that he may not survive knowing it's either that or get taken my Vader.  This is where everything gets Shakespearean. 

    

2) Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)

This is my favorite duel to watch because it's so fast and choreographed.  From a fantasy perspective these two Jedi are so powerful in The Force they can fight this fast and make it an even battle.  From a real-life perspective these two actors are actually swinging their swords that fast, which is awesome.

At this point in the film Obi-Wan finds his best friend choking his wife.  Anakin, who is now calling himself Darth Vader, has just killed children and Jedi, and plans to enslave the galaxy because Sidious has twisted his mind into thinking it's what's best for everyone.  Obi-Wan doesn't want to fight, he begs his best friend and brother-in-arms not to fight him.  But they do.  It's pretty awesome, and of course Vader's arrogance becomes his undoing as he tries to leap over Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan cut him down.

Obi-Wan stands there, seeing what he has just done, what he had to do, to is closest friend.  The man is almost in tears.  "You were my brother Anakin.  I loved you." As Vader begins to burn Obi-Wan walks away.  I'm not sure if it's because he feels that the flames will finish him off or that Obi-Wan just can't bring himself to finish Vader off himself.  Either way, the two meet 20 years later on the Death Star to finish the duel.  When I watch the Star Wars saga from Episodes I-VI, by this point I feel so bad for Obi-Wan Kenobi and all the people he has lost over the course of three films.  When he then reappears in Episode IV you know everything the character has been through and it makes Alec Guiness's performance in the original Star Wars film that much better.

1)Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

To me, these last two lightsaber duels on my list are what the entire Star Wars saga is all about.  The Obi-Wan/Vader fight was what the prequels all lead too, and this fight between Luke and Vader is what the original trilogy, if not the saga, is all about.

When Luke finds out the most evil man in the galaxy is his father he has a tough choice to make.  Does he join him or does he kill him?  Instead, Luke wishes to redeem him, a feat that nobody; not Obi-Wan, not Yoda, not the Emperor, and not even Vader himself; believes is possible.  It is only when Vader threatens his sister does Luke lash out, and takes off his father's hand.  He looks at his own hand and realizes if he takes one step more he will become Vader.  Luke then does something nobody saw coming.  He is willing to sacrifice himself to bring back Anakin Skywalker.  The Emperor is electrocuting him and he pleads to his father to save him.  And it works!  Vader sees his son dying before his very eyes.  In that moment Vader/Anakin reaches inside himself and finds the love he had for Padme and his unborn child and decides to stop Luke's suffering.  He kills the Emperor and sacrifices himself to save his son.  I don't care who you are, there is no greater storytelling than the events that unfold in that throne room while the rest of the galaxy battles outside the window.