Lead to Gold

Kris decided to pick up Crossgen’s Mystic on a whim based on some favorable reviews and the fact that it had a cover by Amanda Connor. It was really cute and became a thing.

This week has been a very big week for Movie Superman. Warner Bros has released the first official pictures of Henry Cavill in the cape, but most importantly they announced that Laurence Fishburne will be Perry White. I cannot properly describe how excited I am by this. I wouldn’t say that Fishburne is my favorite actor of all time, nor is he an actor who I will watch a movie just because he is in it. However, I do immensely enjoy any role I see him in and think that he can do something very cool with Perry White.

Most people are focusing on the costume and how Cavill looks in it. The scalloping/scaling on the costume gives the suit nuances of a knight’s chain mail, which is a very interesting approach. I’m glad that they didn’t try to go with an armor look like the Superman of The New 52 will sport, since it doesn’t make sense that an invulnerable man needs armor. At the same time, it is not flimsy spandex so Superman can get into massive, knock down, drag out fights (or rip bank vaults open) and it’s plausible that the suit doesn’t get completely torn up. I have to say that I’m not a fan of the embossed shield logo, but it doesn’t look as bad as the weird rubbery version that Superman Returns and Smallville used. As other people have pointed out, Superman’s crotch is in shadow in the released photo so we cannot tell if he is sporting the old-school red speedo or if his uniform is a solid color.

Not to be outdone, there have also been pictures and videos released of Batman and Bane fighting in Pittsburgh. I really like the realistic take on Bane’s mask. With the more gritty, reality-based universe that Nolan created, a body builder in a luchador mask doesn’t make much sense. However, the cross between a gas mask and Hannibal Lector’s face guard makes sense realistically while still giving the look of the luchador mask from far away. We also get to see Marion Cotillard as a Wayne Enterprise board member. Based on her semi-Eastern dress, I think that everybody’s prediction that she will turn out to be Talia Al Ghul by the end of the movie is still pretty firm.

Finally, Marvel has announced that Agent Coulson, the minor SHEILD agent that has shown up in pretty much every Marvel movie they’ve made gets his own short on the Thor Blu-ray. There will also be a second Coulson short at a later date, probably on the Captain America Blu-ray. I’m really glad to see that Marvel has embraced how much the fans love this character and can’t wait to see his solo adventure.