Ranking the Marvel Universe

It's been a while since I posted, and since I've missed out on reviewing the last couple of entries into the Marvel Universe, I figured I'd do what everyone else is doing and rank the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on the incredibly objective scale that is my own personal preferences.

It's official: Robert Downey Jr. to return as Iron Man

Marvel.com announced today that Robert Downey Jr. has signed a two picture deal to return as Iron Man/Tony Stark for Avengers 2 & 3. It's good news for Marvel fans, even if this news implies that no more Iron Man solo films are in development. I really can't imagine an Avengers film without RDJ, though I hope the future films don't focus on Tony Stark as heavily as the first Avengers did. The Avengers 2 is scheduled to start production in March 2014 and open May 1, 2015.

Review: The villains of Iron Man 3 and Star Trek 2

Time for a couple of quick movie reviews. Two big May sequels: Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness (aka JJ Abrams' Star Trek II). Both films are continuations of successful franchises, both heavily advertised their villains, both use insane amounts of CGI, and both have a fairly controversial twist, which means that most of everything I want to say is incredibly spoiler heavy. On the spoiler-free side, both films strike a fine balance action and humor, and well neither is perfect (and both make questionable decisions) both are excellent summer movies. Okay, spoilers now.

Pepper Potts to the Rescue in new Iron Man 3 TV spot

Fully revealing a rumored plot point from the LEGO sets, here's the latest TV spot for Iron Man, showing Gwyneth Paltrow getting into the action (via ComicBookMovie).

New Iron Man 3 trailer confirms the awesome

The theatrical trailer for Iron Man 3 is here, and it confirms, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the presence of the many rumored suits of armor. Heartbreaker, Hulkbuster and more. Not only that, but they seem able to fly autonomously (or Tony found a shit-ton of trusted pilots somewhere). Less than two months until release.

New Iron Man 3 poster has all of the armors

Yahoo! Movies has revealed a new poster for Iron Man 3, and it finally has official confirmation of the rumored suits of armor that'll be appearing in the film. There's seven new ones here (well, the one in the top left corner might be from a previous film). The armor on middle-right is said to be a Deep Space armor (a toy calls it the Starboost Irom Man), possibly tying into Guardians of the Galaxy. Here's leaked concept art for the space armor and a heavy Hulkbuster suit. And don't forget the Heartbreaker. This movie is looking more awesome by the day. A new trailer will be out on March 5.

Iron Man Heartbreaker revealed?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the Iron Man 3 Heartbreaker armor that was revealed in the tie-in LEGO sets. Now, ComicBookMovie has a piece of concept art from the film that seems to confirm--and give a better look at--the armor. Rumor is there's a new trailer for the film dropping soon that will show of several new armors, and based on the LEGO sets, this heavy duty suit could be the one Tony Stark takes into battle against the Manderin.
Also, Here's the Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) poster I guessed was on the way. She's holding Iron Man's worse-for-wear helmet. Or is she? Just waiting on the Robert Downey Jr. one to finish the set.

Ben Kingsley is a badass in new "Iron Man 3" poster

Check out today's poster for Iron Man 3 featuring Ben Kingsley's Manderin (or, as I like to think Evil Gandhi) looking like an actual badass. The sunglasses add that extra "I'm gonna blow shit up" vibe. Director Shane Black previously criticized the character for being a racist caricature so it'll be interesting to see how he deals with that in the film. In the hands of Sir Ben, I'm not particularly worried. This is the third character poster revealed so far, we've already seen Guy Pearce (Momento, Lockout) as Aldrich Killian and Don Cheadle as War Machine. Over the next few days, I expect we'll get one for Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and of course Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark himself.

LEGO gives more hints at summer Super Heroes

The first official images of this summer's LEGO Marvel and DC Universe Super Heroes sets are surfacing, and they're full of hints and spoilers for Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel. Iron Man: Extremis Sea Port Battle has Iron Man and War Machine chasing after Aldrich Killian in a speedboat. It looks like Guy Pearce's Killian in going to be trying out Extremis on himself, based on the minifigure's face. That's a change from the comic storyline.
Next, is Iron Man vs. The Mandarin: Ultimate Battle. It looks like it's final showdown of the film and features Tony Stark in the rumored Heartbreaker armor. The questionable accuracy of LEGO sets hopefully means the Mandarin won't be driving around in a flame-throwing buggy. Man of Steel and the big spoiler for Iron Man 3 are after the jump.

LEGO and the Super Bowl give "Iron Man 3" hints

The Super Bowl spot for Iron Man 3 (embedded in extended form above) shows off the airplane rescue scene previously spotted in set photos. It's an Air Force One rescue and looks suitably awesome. Moving on, a look at the upcoming LEGO sets reveals yet another suit of armor. On the right is the Mark XLII we've seen in all the trailers, but the one on the left is new. Reports are calling it the Heartbreaker armor. Note the blue eyes and chest light.

Comic Movie News: Captain America and more!

It's been a while since I collected up all of the Comic Book Movie news that I've missed, so here goes. Someone else is returning for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel's looking at some big names for Guardians of the Galaxy, there's a new rumor about the Justice League movie, and a non-Superhero comic is getting a film. Click ahead to read all about it.

Tony Stark's world burns in the trailer for Iron Man 3

Released this morning on Apple Trailers, here's the first trailer for next summer's start to Marvel's Phase 2 films. It classic Shane Black style, it opens with falling snow, a detail celebrated by long-time Iron Man comic writer Matt Fraction. We get our first looks at the new Iron Man suit, plus Iron Patriot, and glimpses of Rebecca Hall and Guy Pierce. Also, Tony vs Iron Man? What? And then an evil bearded Ben Kingsley shows up and blows stuff up. You can watch the trailer at Apple here, and check out the new poster for the film. Edit: I would do screencaps, but ComicBookMovie already did.

Marvel going all out Iron Patriot

It looks like Marvel is re-launching the Iron Patriot across all three of their universes. Early set photos from the filming of Iron Man 3 first revealed the character, which was revealed at ComicCon this summer to be the new look for Don Cheadle's War Machine. For those not aware, Iron Patriot (think Iron Man with a Captain America paint-job) initially debuted in the comics during the Dark Reign storyline as Norman Osborn (aka, the Green Goblin, it's a long story). Of course, the film rights to Osborn belong to Sony along with Spider-man, so that particular story won't be appearing on film, and thus the spangled armor has been passed to War Machine. Not only that, but it appears Iron Patriot is getting a comic makeover as well.

My Favorite Moments from The Avengers

In celebration of The Avengers release on DVD and Blu-Ray, here's a blog about the movie that set the opening weekend domestic record. Joss Whedon and Marvel have turned in one of the best comic book movies ever, and I suspect that whether you pick it over or after Spider-man 2 or The Dark Knight depends more on your preference for the heroes involved. Personally, I can only say The Avengers was the greatest movie I have seen in years. Whedon crafted a script filled with humor and the all-important "F*** Yeah" moments that superhero movies thrive on. More importantly, the film lets every character shine, and that, more than anything, is what makes The Avengers work. This is a movie about a team, and not any one character. After the jump, I'll take a spoiler-filled look at my favorite scenes from my #1 movie this year.

Spoilers follow, but it's out DVD so you should have seen it by now.

ComicCon updates: Iron Man 3, Winter Soldier, Ant Man, Thor 2 and Rocket Raccoon!

Big news from Marvel's Iron Man 3 panel at ComicCon yesterday. The biggest for me? The Captain America sequel has been officially titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Meanwhile, Thor's sequel has been subtitled The Dark World, which tells considerably less about the film's plot. Iron Man's new Extremis armor has been revealed and speculation regarding the villain has been confirmed. Guardians of the Galaxy will indeed be the second 2014 Marvel film, and Edgar Wright showed off Ant-Man test footage, though there's still no release date. Details and my thoughts are all after the jump.

Item 47 and Iron Man 3 concept art

In preparation for ComicCon, Marvel has released some official concept art from Iron Man 3. Here it is, Tony Stark wearing just a couple parts of his armor. It looks like the heavy gold color scheme is going to be in for this movie after all, and based on this image, Stark is going to be shifting toward the modular armor that probably leads toward Extremis. The common rumor is this: Based on Captain America's quote from The Avengers ("Just a big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?") Stark turns to nano-technology to make himself more than a man in a suit, and interfaces himself directly with his armor.

Meanwhile, the first still and synopsis has been revealed Marvel's next short, premiering with The Avengers Blu-ray in September. According to Entertainment Weekly, the short features Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford as a couple who find a Chitauri guns from the finale of The Avengers and proceed to make some bad decisions that cause S.H.I.E.L.D. to step in. Of course, Agent Coulson won't be the star, but there's always a chance on of these new characters could turn out to be a key player in the Marvel cinematic universe. 

Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and more movies and comics

Iron Man 3 just started filming, and here's everything you need to know about it. Also, updates on Thor 2 and beyond. Other studios are moving on. Also, GI Joe 2 got moved, supposedly for 3D conversion. but there could be a different reason. It's all after the jump, and depending on the validity of certain rumors just might contain spoilers.

Marvel movie news

Hey, so The Avengers is coming out soon. You know what that means? Let look at what's coming out after. There's a few bits of news about upcoming Marvel superhero movies that have trickled out over the last few weeks. There are a ton of interviews from the set of The Avengers, along with a myriad of TV spots and couple of new clips.

"Avengers" awesomeness

The first real trailer for The Avengers was released today on iTunes. Other than Loki, it doesn't show much of this threat that the Avengers are meant to be fighting, but villains are only part of a good Avengers story, and this trailer suggests that the team's dysfunction will be as important as the foe they battle. I've grabbed a few screenshots. They are after the jump.

Dwarves, heroes, and other stuff

The dwarves from The Hobbit are revealed in all their bearded glory, news from Marvel on bringing their heroes to the screen, cool commentary by io9 on a TV show that shouldn't be good, awesome LEGO, and some steps toward becoming Iron Man or Captain America. That right, it's time for another collection of links from around the interwebs.