Spiderman and his cock-blocking friend

I haven't talked about it in awhile on hear, but out in the real world I have been talking about my love of the show Spiderman and his Amazing Friends and as I was talking to one of these folks who was to young to have seen the show. I told them about how the main reason, I still to this day love this show is that the majority of the show is just Peter and Bobby cock-blocking each other (and indirectly themselves) in their competition to date Angelica and how it usually ends with her going out with some other guy (like Dracula). Think about this, I came to the conclusion that the main reason this causes me untold amounts of laughter, is the fact that Spidey and Iceman are too busy fighting over who will date Firestar that they never ask her about her perference. Even as a guy (and occasionally a quite boorish one at that) I've always found this attitude perplexing, the whole dynamic just makes me snicker.

Casting Cloak and Dagger

With news of ABC Family developing a Cloak and Dagger TV show I thought I would chime in (a bit late) on how I think should be cast in the leading and supporting roles. I've always dug these characters and I really hope that this show works out. With an eye towards this being a tv show I figured I would stick with only the leading characters having superpowers and that the rest of the cast would just be regular non-powered people and so, here's my cast:

Cloak/Tyrone Johnson - Maestro Harrell. Much like Taylor Momsen, I haven't seen him in that much. But, from what I have seen him in I think he would do a good job as Tyrone.


Dagger/Tandy Bowen - Taylor Momsen, Although I'm not too familar with her work. I feel sees got the look to play Tandy both before and after her and Tyrome were drugged. Plus I think being on Gossip Girl she could probably handle the dark subjects of the show than one of the girls from one of the Disney or Nickelodeon shows.


Father Delgado - Jeremy Sisto, after his role on Law and Order I feel that Sisto would make a good choice as the priest who takes in Cloak and Dagger and allows them to use his church as their home base while offering support and guidance to them.


Silvermane - Kyle MacLachlan, He has the right mix of menace and congeniality to play the elder mobster whom seeks a formula for immortality. Give him some silver hair dye and he's set.


Simon Marshall - Bryan Callen, with his recurring role as Bilson on HIMYM. I think he has just the right mix of likability and jerkass to pull off the role of the man who found the duo on the streets and injected them with the drugs which turned them into superheroes.


Well there you have it. My casting choices for the (hopefully) upcoming Cloak and Dagger TV series.

The Irredeemable X-Men

So, for a while now I've been toying with the idea of making up an X-Men team made up of the mutants that get no respect for the powers and came up with the idea of the Irredeemable X-Men team which consist of:

Iceman - The leader of the team, who's trying to prove to Scott and the others he can lead and that making ice is not just a parlor trick seeing how he can control one the the most abundant of the elements on Earth.

Jubilee - Besides being one of my favs she's got an awesome personality and can control the fourth state of matter (plasma) with her "fireworks".

Husk - Every team needs a big guy and I think she would be a fun one to go with. though she's not made fun of as much as the two above her. She hasn't gotten a lot of face time in the X-Men books (well, other than in the X-Men vs. Vampires books).

Wolfsbane - Even though she doesn't get teased too much about her actual powers, I do feel she could be used better with in the X-Men books which tend to focus on her religious views in a way that I think is unfair (Like some of the jokes her X-Factor teammates have thrown her way) and that she would make a good team mom for this rag-tag group.

Cypher - Last but not least the guy who can understand all forms of communication. Granted the new New Mutant book has been treating him better (especially when he pwn'd the team in his first re-appearance). He still doesn't get nearly the respect he should based on his powers. Heck, look how crazy awesome Cassandra Cain was using only one of the techniques available to him.

So, there you have it, the Irredeemable X-Men team. Hopefully someone at Marvel will make this happen and then maybe Joey Q will stop getting so much flack (from people like me) about Spider-MAn's satanic divorce.

Wolverine's Powerful Princesses

While handing out candy this year, me and a friend struck upon the funnest idea for a new X-Men team. While we're still working on a name that doesn't sound pervy. The idea for the team thus far is that for whatever reason (maybe he stole Cyclop's motorcycle one too many times). Wolverine is put in charge of leading a team consisting of; Jubilee, Molly Hayes, Pixie and, Kitty Pryde. Most of this series would consist of various X-Men popping in to make fun of Wolverine. With Colossus occasionally dropping in so that Illyana can visit with her friends and Molly Hayes beating up Wolverine when doesn't pickup the right slurpee flavor or drive her too the mall or whatever. But, mainly just a book written as an excuse for young Molly to pummel Logan on a monthly basis.

She's the Boss Pt. 2

It's been a long time since I've posted anything new, mainly because I couldn't really think of anything to post. But, in the last couple of weeks I've been getting back into my love of Jubilee. I felt it would be a good time to finally post some new material. As, I've talked about in other posts I enjoy reading comics which feature Wolverine and Jubilee from the perspective that he is actually her sidekick. Just something about the idea that mean, feral, tough as nails Wolverine is following a bubbly teenage mall rat tickles me deep down in my soul and if I ever got the chance to write an X-Men book I would totally play up this alternative character interpation. With Jubilee calling the shots and Wolverine basically being like whatever, when do I get to punch someone? Looking back I think the main place the seeds of this interpation of their relationship were sewn was in the episode of the 90's cartoon in which Jubilee tells a group of kids visiting the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters a fantasy style tale, in which she is a Robin Hood type with an orc like version of Wolverine as her sidekick. Since, then it just makes their team-ups more enjoyable to me thinking that she is the boss and he is the muscle. Maybe, it's because she's always been a bit more mouthy and brazen then Wolverine's other teen aged sidekicks. Which writing this makes me wonder why no one seems to play up the creepiness of Wolverine taking on teen aged girl sidekicks as much as they do the whole thing with Batman taking up teen aged boys as sidekicks. To me at least Wolvie's relationships seem a bit more unseemly than Batman's. But, then that's just me. But, yeah I view Batman's mentoring a lot more innocently than I do Wolverine's. But, back on topic I feel that Wolverine and Jubilee's relationship works best when she is shown as the one guiding their missions and making the decisions about how to proceed.

Another Pitched Marvel Will Ignore

Thinking today about the book I would love to write if Marvel ever lost there sense and hired me. I came to the realization that the book I would truly love to write for them would be a new volume of Marvel Team-Up and for you my faithful readers I will layout how I would write it starting with my first team-up. I would take highly unlikely character and put them in situations where the would have to grudgingly accept each others help and maybe even become friends by the end of the story and my first team-up would be....Gambit and War Machine. That's right official stick in the mud Jim Rhodes and part time thief Remy LeBeau.



The story would begin with Rhodey investigating a string of thefts within Stark Industries. The clues quickly point him in the direction of one Remy LeBeau (whom has been living it up in Vegas). Rhodey travels to Vegas and playing it cool ends up in a game of Texas hold'em where he and Gambit are the last to players. As the stakes of their game get higher Rhodes asks more and more pointed questions in an attempt to get Remy to confess. Of course, Gambit sees what Rhodes is trying to do from a mile away and evades the questions while putting together a mental list of whom would be trying to set him up for these thefts. The final card is dropped and Gambit wins the pot. Deciding he could use some more info he offers to buy Rhodey a drink at the bar. While sharing a drink Remy comes up with some names of the possible perpetrators and offers to help War Machine catch the thieves (for a slight reward of course). They then go busting down doors making their way down Gambit's list of suspects. Though, non of these rogues are the one's Jim and Remy are looking for, they do provide some helpful information on the reason for the thefts and eventually the catch the theif whose is revealed to be... Tony Stark, who had set up Gambit because of a confidence scam Gambit had pulled on him. Gambit returns the money he had taken from Stark (though not before stealing Tony's wallet)and they all go out for a drink.

Well, there you have it my first issue of Marvel Team-Up staring Gambit and War Machine.

Just Throwing a Little Havok Your Way

What with Alex Summers out in space and all. It got me thinkig about how not many bloggers have much of an opinion on the middle Summers child. Maybe, it's because he was running the X-Men when I started reading comics but, I really like Havok and have ever since those early days and really dug what Peter David did with him in X-Factor. The only major story with him I didn't like was the Mutant X. But, then again I've never been much for alternative timelines other than Age of Apocalypse and Red Son). Silly costumes aside, I feel that Havok would be a nice contrast to Cyclops with everything going on in the X-Men universe right now. But, instead he's trpped in space playing space pirate. Which I feel is a shame since, Alex is such a cool character with a lot of stuff going on and I really like his plasma burst powers and the concentric circles used to portray them on the printed page and would have loved it if they would have atleast had a shout out to him in the movies. On the plus side they did try to work him in to the latest cartoon series. Alas, it seems that only I am a fan of his. Which is a shame since he really is one of the cooler X-characters.

Won't People Fear Mutants More, If We Call Ourselves Mutant Hunters?

Lately, I've been on a X-Men: First Class kick and I've just been reading the 3 TPBs that have been published and while being on this Original X-Men jag. I've been wanting to read just about anything with them in it as a team. So, the other day I was reading some stuff online about the original X-Factor book and it got me thinking of the terrible idea it was to create the team as a group of mutant hunters and yeah, I know they were being manipulated by Cameron Hodge. But, still didn't any of the original 5 think that was a terrible idea? Even Beast? Granted he is a super genius scientist who's greatest accomplishment as accidentally turning himself blue. But, still... Heck, even Cyclops should have had an inkling that this was a terrible, terrible idea. granted because of my age I'm not too experienced with the early issues of X-Factor, since, by the time I started reading comics Angel had already gotten his metal wings and Havok was leading the X-Men. I just find it weird that it doesn't seem like any of the original 5 that this was the terrible idea it was until Cameron Hodge and Apocalypse had manipulated them into creating more fear of mutants in the general populous. Of course, the one thing this premise had in its favor is how in general the normal people of the Marvel Universe seem to not like or trust superheroes far more than in the DC universe.

How Does Iron Man got to when he has tax problems?

Here's a few of the firms I feel should exist in the Marvel universe.

Robert Drake and Associates, Accounting Services

Samson, Blake and, Strange: Health Services

Worthington, Worthington and, Stark; Investments

The Law Offices of Nelson, Murdock and, Walters

Xavier/Frost: Education Enterprises

Wilson and Rhodes: Security

Well, there you go some firms and organizations that they should have in the Marvel U.

Jay's All New, All Different X-Men Team.

I haven't done this in a while. So, I thought it would be fun to take a Little time and come up with the teams I would use if I were writing the X-Men Books. First off I would use the idea from the 90s of a gold and blue team. I would also have them based out of the mansion again and have a support team of Forge, Moira, Cypher and, Cyclops leader of the entire group.
The Gold Team. For this team I thought I'd go with a more experienced group.

Havok - Team Leader. Like his brother. Havok is a natural leader and has led many of the members on this team before.

Polaris - Besides being Alex's on again/off again love interest. She's a flier with long range powers.

Rogue - Heavy hitter and a flier.

Cannonball - Though, a good leader in his own right. He is the only one of the New Mutants to make this team and like Rogue, he is a flier and heavy hitter.

Nightcrawler - He can be stealthy, is good with malee weapons and can get help out of a fit in a pinch, with his teleporting powers.

Wolverine - He had to be on at least one of these teams so, might as well be on the one with someone whom knows how to deal with him.

Gambit - Besides also having Rogue on this team. With all the time he's spent reigning in Logan. I figured Havok could control Gambit a lot better than the leader of the Blue Team and it's always good to have someone that can blow stuff up on at least one of the teams.

Psylocke - Again, she has experience working with Alex and, her powers are complimented by being on this team.

Colossus - The team's heavy hitter.

Kitty Pryde - With Piotr and Logan on this team you could've guessed she was going to be on this team. Plus, much like Nightcrawler she's good to have around in case the fight starts to go sour.

BLUE TEAM. Though, not as experienced as the Gold Team. They're not a team to be taken likely.

Multiple Man - Team Leader. Since, starting up X-Factor investigations. Madrox has been the type of leader a guy with his powers should be.

Siryn - With her and Jamie's personal history. She could be good at keeping him in line as well as her long range and flight powers.

M - Jamie knows how to deal with her and she is a powerhouse, no matter what time she's on.

Angel - I put him and a couple of the original X-Men on this team to work as mentors to the younger members. Plus, he's a flier and it's always good to have a few of those on your team.

Wolfsbane - The malee fighter of the team.

Husk - She was on a team with M and in a relationship with Angel. So, there will definitely make things interesting. Plus, the her powers she can be whatever supporting member the team needs.

Jubilee - With Husk and M on the team it's only natural to have Jubes on the team. Plus, I think it would be entertaining how she and MAdrox would butt heads.

Iceman - The main reason I put him on the team was because of this team's lack of long range attackers and him being a bit more immature than the folks on the other team. I thought he'd make a good fit on this team.

Sunspot - The team's powerhouse and a former teamate of Rahne's I felt this was the team for him.

Beast - A heavy hitter and able to find solutions for problems no one's thought exist. I feel he would make a good mentor to all the members including Madrox and I kind of think that if he had a choice he would pick to be on this team, for the entertainment of watching these personalities trying to work together.

Well, there you go. My Gold and Blue X-Men teams.

Fallen S.W.O.R.D. (A Review/Post Mortem)

So, this week I finally got the chance to read SWORD. For those whom didn't read it before it was cancelled SWORD follows Lockheed, Beast and, Abigail Brand after Astonishing X-Men. In the series Henry Gyrich has been selected by Norman Osborn as the co-head (along with Ms. Brand) of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department)basically, the outer space version of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is head quartered on a space station above Earth named The Peak. Although, I did enjoy the series. I can also see why it was cancelled. For one the set up seems like it would have been better suited to a mini series rather than an ongoing series. there is a bit of a storytelling engine set up for the series. But, for the most part it's lacking a set up to continue for a long time. One of the first cracks in the armor of this series as an ongoing series is the machinations of Gyrich to have all aliens on Earth, deported back to their home worlds. While it is a good story had this plot been paced as more of a secondary plot than the main one (as it is in the issues I read). It could have added some interesting story arcs in the long run as Gyrich slowing turns the staff of The Peak against Brand and becomes more influential on Earth. Instead of doing this however, Gillen and Sanders make this the main story of the first arc. Had they used this plot point as a slow burner. I think they could have made the storytelling engine a bit richer. The final thing that I think set this series up to fail was that it didn't seem to have enough of a intro hook besides remember the last couple of pages in Whedon's Astonishing X-Men series. This is what happened to Beast and Brand. Though, another thing that could have helped the series was had they shown they were keeping take of that "bullet" Kitty was trapped in. Like I sadi at the beginning cool story but, easy to see why it didn't make it as an ongoing series (atleast in my humble opinion).

Sienkiewicz (un)covered

Lately, I've been re-reading my New Mutants: Classic collections and one of the things I have realized in re-reading these is that I really like Bill Sieniewicz covers. Now, I'm not a big fan of his work. In fact, the only stories I enjoyed his interior work in where the Demon Bear and Legion story lines. For those stories and the whole metaphysical angle of them, I think his art works really well in creating the vibe of these stories taking place in a bit of a dream scape. However, his work on the other New Mutant stories just really bugs me. I'm not quite sure why, but it does. The one place where I feel he was really good on all the issues he worked on were the covers. Something about that painted style of his really clicks on the covers of The New Mutant books. My personal favorite of his covers is issue #21, entitled Slumber Party! the cover of that issue was really what got me interested in reading The New Mutants again when I was working at the Mile High Comics warehouse. When I was a kid I read a few New Mutant comics but, that was around the time of the Fall of the Mutants crossovers. So, I hadn't read any of the early issues and then I was walking around the Mile high Comics warehouse one day and I see this table in the back corner near the area I worked in. This table was decorated in a collage of all kinds of covers and other pictures and stuff. The first one that caught my attention was the VHS cover of that movie Melissa Joan Hart did with the guy from Entourage (it stuck out in my mind because in Jr. High, when she did Clarrisa Explains It All I had a huge crush on her). Anyways the second image that I noticed on the table was the Slumber Party cover Mr. Sienkiewicz did for New Mutants #21 and after that I really wanted to check out those old stories and along the way became a huge fans of the team. All because of that cover and just to have everything come full circle at Comic Fest this year I bought that issue along with a ton of other X-Factor and New Mutants comics.

Everyone enjoys a little Rahne every now and again

Taking a brake from all the listy goodness for a little bit. I thought I would right about something that's been bouncing around my head for the last couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago while I was at Comic Fest me and the friend I went with were chatting about this and that and it got me thinking about how (despite her low profile) Wolfsbane has been in more titles than almost any other New Mutant, heck she's even co-starred in a couple of mini-series with Wolverine (and weirdly enough both were also written by Peter David). Seriously, you never hear much in fandom about Ms. Rahne Sinclair (not even on any of the feminist type blogs), Even though, she was in New Mutants, two versions of X-Factor and is now one of the main characters in the new X-Force book as well as being in the New Mutant/New X-men book while she was dating Elixir. I'm not really sure why this is, though I do have a sinking suspicion that Peter David really digs the character. After all, he has written two series and to minis that she has co-starred in. Yet, she barely rates a mention on the internets and that is a real shame. Now granted,I really dig Wolfsbane, in all of her incarnations and was extremely happy when I found out that one of my quarter bin finds from Comic Fest was X-Factor #99 where Haven cures her of the mutate thing and she was able to revert back to her human form and was no longer mind linked to Havok. All in all it's not a bad issue at all. Anyways getting back to the subject I think one of the strength's and why she has been in, is that she is really good supporting character. For one her background and her faith makes for interesting exchanges between her and other characters (especially,when some kind of moral dilemma is being discussed). Plus, with her powers of lycanthropy it makes a good visual, even in the background of a fight scene. What's weird is still thinking about all of this the other day, I started thinking about whether or not she would be able to carry off her own mini series and even as a huge fan of the character I don't really think she could. Unless of course, a very talented write had a story they felt could only be told with her in the lead. Other than that though, I think she works best as a supporting character that occasionally has an issue or to that spotlight her. Lately, I started re-reading the latest version of X-Factor up until she left and joined X-Factor and I think what I really enjoy about her is how Peter David writes her as a girl with a fierce and tough exterior in a vain attempt to hide her caring and soft personality and the conflicts and hurt that stem from her upbringing as well as from the conflicted ways she feels about her powers and mutant abilities. I really feel that even as a supporting character she is really fleshed out well (especially when written by Peter David) into a character that you really care and hope for as she deals with the traumas of her childhood as well as her mutant powers while growing into a woman of deep faith and conviction and it's a shame she doesn't get more coverage on the blogs or in the comic press and hopefully here soon, more people will realise just how awesome she is. Plus, who doesn't love a gal with a Scottish accent.

Shhhh... It's a Secret Part. 2

Still in a list making mood and not quite ready for my New Mutants casting call. I thought it would be fun to give you fine folks another peak into how my mind works with second edition of the secret gifts/guilty pleasures of some of my favorite characters.

Alex Summers(Havok)- Besides being better at crossword puzzles than Scott, he's also better at the game of Scrabble. In fact he's one of the best Scrabble players at the X-Mansion and he and Beast have an ongoing rivalry as well as a bet on which one is actually the best.

Rahne Sinclair(Wolfsbane)- Though it's not something she would admit to, she enjoys reading "Bodice Rippers" and just to make it more humorous. In my mind it was Monet how introduce her to these trashy books, while she was still on X-Factor and that is one of the few things they were able to bond over as team members.

Tim Drake(Robin/Red Robin)- Is not very good at Wii sports. For all his training under Bruce Wayne, Tim just can not win at any of the games on Wii sports. He maybe a ninja and one of the best detectives of the DCU. But he is a terrible Wii boxer, bowler,etc.

Bobby Drake(Iceman)- Really hates when his friends ask him to make slushies, margaritas, dacaries or any other type of drink that requires ice and a blender and even more mysteriously he didn't mind it until after college.

Betsy Braddock(Psylocke)- Much too everyone's surprise (especially considering the outfit she fights in)her most prized clothing item is her full length flannel nightgown. She loves nothing more on a slow evening than to curl up on the couch in flannel nightgown with a good book in front of a roaring fire.

Well, there you go another list of some of the things I think these characters are into and that some of them would rather no one knew about.

Casting Call: X-Factor: The 90s Edtion

While at Comic Fest over the weekend I was catching with the friend I went with and thought it would be neat to revisit the X-Factor casting call dealie I did awhile ago. But, rather then just changing the actors, since i think I did an awesome job. I thought it would be fun to think about who I would cast if I was doing the 90s version of the team and don't worry I'm going with different actors for Rahne and Jamie since they would be younger in this version of X-Factor. So, here you go:

Alex Summers/Havok - Owen Wilson. Besides being blond and the right age. i think Owen would make a really good Havok, he could even channel some of the energy he has from being in the same profession with more well know brother Luke. Plus, he's got the charm to pull off some of the trademark dickishness the Summers brothers are known for, without you hating him.

Lorna Dane/Polaris - Diane Neal - With her years on SVU. I think she would make a very good Lorna who had been manipulated by various people through out the years of her being associated with the X-Men and I feel she she could bring that depth to the character. Of course, this also depends on how she looks with her hair dyed green but, I think she could pull it off.

Valerie Cooper - Jeri Ryan. Seeing some the more bureaucratic roles since leaving Voyager. I think she would make a good choice for the Mutant Affairs liaison and boss of X-Factor.

Guido Carosella/Strong Guy - Ethan Suplee. As mentioned in the other post. I think Ethan would make a great choice for bringing Strong Guy to the silver screen and I'm keeping him as my choice here.

Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man - Seann William Scott. That's right, in my flick Stifler would make the perfect guy to play the less focused and more immature Jamie Madrox of this team.

Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane - Michelle Trachtenberg. Even though she's a bit older than Rahne was during these stories. I feel she could still pull off playing a 16 year old werewolf, with her work on Buffy and the stuff she's done since then. I think she would do a really good job as the Havok obsessed Rahne of this era.

Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver - David Hyde Pierce. A bit of an adment to the other posting I think he would actually make a better Pietro than Cary Ewles. So, he's out and Niles, is in.

Nathaniel Essex/Mr. Sinister - Jeremy Sisto. With his role as Batman in New Frontier and his gravelly voice. I think he would be great in the role of evil geneticist and villain Mr. Sinister.

So, there you go there's the 90's X-Factor casting call.

Comic Fest 2010: A Fantastic Spring Day

So, last week was Comic Fest here in Denver and it was a blast. I got some awesome prints of Zatanna and Matilda (Natalie Portman in the Professional), I also picked up a big chunk of the original New Mutants run including a copy of Marvel Graphic Novel No.4 signed by Claremont and McLeod and the issue Cypher died in. Besides the cool raid of the quarter bins and finding out there's a cool little comic shop in Cheyenne. I also got to hang out and have a cigarette with Matthew Sturges (after he signed my copy of JSA: All Stars(which of course, cuz it's me was the issue with Stargirl on the cover). I even made him laugh while doing a bit of monologuing on Power Girl's outfit and the frequency of having to tie Chuck Taylors(which we agreed was a worthwhile cost of wearing cool shoes). Then I got an issue of Madame Xanadu as well as a sketch, and make it even cool was when she told me she remember the review I did here at Monkey Knife Fight of her manga Fool's Gold. She and Matt Sturges are(from my meetings with them) super nice and awesome folks. Oddly, enough while I was there I kept running into Scorpio Steele and Zach Howard (also really neat guys) and I also said "Hi" Armando Durruthy how did an awesome Guy Gardner sketch from me last year and we've kinda been keeping in touch since then. Oh and before I forget I also got a way cool Avengers print done in a style that kinda reminds ya of Bruce Timm's style. though, I didn't have any work critiqued this year I was able to scope out some of the panels. Which for whatever reason, I ended up missing all of the panels last year, which really sucked. All three of the panels I went to were all pretty DC centric and the Marvel panels honestly seemed kinda lame so, I opted for raiding Quarter Bins instead. Well, that's about it had a really great time and hopefully next year they'll move it to a bigger room as it's starting to get really crowded in the space they hold it. I even managed to find a copy of the Marvel Team-Up featuring Spiderman, The New Mutants and Cloak & Dagger, in which Sunspot and Wolfsbane are injected with the drugs that gave Cloak and Dagger their powers. All in all I had a really fun time.

She's the Boss...Bub

Reading a blog on here a couple days ago someone referred to Jubilee as Wolverine's sidekick. Which kinda struck me as odd since as a kid I always thought he was her sidekick and even lately rereading the Jim Lee Visionaries trade. It seems like that, or at least that's how I interpret it. Nowadays I can see it more of thinking of her as his sidekick, but (partly because it's funnier)I still like to think of him as her sidekick. Just something about this world wary soldier being the tag a long to a teenage mallrat just tickles me deep down and if I ever got the chance to write a Wolverine story that is exactly how I would write it with her calling the shots and him just there as the muscle following her around and her flights of fancy and beating up any one dumb enough to talk smack to her. Of course, the funniest thing would be to have him (in at least one panel) say to her "sure, boss." Well that's all I got for today. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

X-Factor: The Movie (casting call)

A couple of posts ago, I wrote up how much I think James Roday of Psych fame should play Jamie Madrox in a movie and thinking it over I thought it would be fun (since I haven't done it in a while). To put together a list of who I'd cast if they ever made an X-Factor movie. This the X-Factor from the Madrox miniseries up to issue #35or so.

Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man - James Roday, since I already wrote a previous blog about this choice I won't go into much detail other than saying I think he would make a perfect Jamie.

Guido Carosella/Strong Guy - Ethan Suplee. Even though he's not Italian I think Ethan would make a great Strong Guy. Just make him 7 feet tall with some special FX magic and let him do his thing like he did in Mallrats and My Name is Earl and I think it would be like when they cast Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Monet St. Croix/M - Zoe Saldana. Besides her action chops in movies like Star Trek and Avatar. She is beautiful enough to pull off the Veronica Lodge aspects of M's personality while remaining believable that she could kick every one's ass, while painting her nails.

Theresa Rourke Cassidey/Siryn - Isla Fisher. Even though she's not Irish and has mostly done comedies. I think she has the looks and the wit to play the live action incarnation of Banshee's Daughter. Especially with her slightly unhinged character in The Wedding Crashers.

Rahne Sinclear/Wolfsbane - Rachel Nichols. Even though I thought G.I. Joe was a terrible, terrible movie and she's not Scottish. I thought she was pretty good in it. But, what really makes me think she would make a good Wolfsbane is her role as the Orion cadet in Star Trek.

Julio Esteban Richter/Rictor - Gael Garcia Bernal. With his roles as Che Guevara in Fidel and The Motorcycle Daries. I feel he would make a good fit as the "powerless" Rictor.

Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver - Cary Elwes. Much like Paul Rudd he has that perfect ability of being able to play a complete jerkass while still remaining likable. This is probably the biggest hurdle in finding an actor to play Pietro. In order to play the son of Magneto, who have to have an actor that can say terrible horrible things but still have the audience kinda like him and maybe even root for him a little bit and I think Mr. Elwes fits this to a T.

Layla Miller - Chloe Moretz. With her up coming role as Hit_Girl in Kick Ass and her kinda creepy looks (plus her age). I think she would do a really cool job as the girl who knows stuff.

Well there you have it the folks I would cast if I made an X-Factor movie. I hope you enjoy my selections and as always feel free to argue with me in the comments sections ;)

Hope this doesn't get my geek card taken away

I haven't really gone into this before so, I thought for a little change of pace I'd make a list (yay Lists!!!) of some of the geeky stuff I'm not into or don't like. Since, most of the time I use this blog to talk about the things I do like and also 'cause, I'm bored and can't really think of anything else to write about. As with most lists I do on here these are in no particular order.

Lord of The Rings - Never read the books (or plan to)and I found the movies more boring than watching paint dry after a baseball game.

Tabletop Gaming - Even though I have friends who are into Warhammer and D&D I've never seen the fun in it and occasionally feel the need to make fun of the people who are into it as being way geekier than me, even though we're probably one par with one another.

Doctor Who - My uncle used to watch this show when I was a wee lad and even then I thought it was cheesy. I tried to give the new show a chance and even though its lost some of the cheese I just don't feel it. Nothing against anyone who does it's just not my bag.

Fantasy - For whatever reason which goes into why I didn't like LOTR. I've never been a fan of any of the wizards and elf stuff. As soon as I here that wizards or swords and sorcery are involved my brain just completely checks out. Not sure why, guess that's just how I'm wired.

WoW - Maybe tying into that whole thing about more loathing of fantasy settings. I just don't understand how so many people get hooked on the World of Warcrack. Just everything I've heard of it makes it sound lame and then when I thought it couldn't get any lamer Mr.T and Ozzy started pimping it. This does weird out some of my friends that I hate this game so much when I love other RPGs (especially Final Fantasy VII). But for whatever reasons, I really really hate this game.

I could thing of some other stuff but, not wanting to get lynched or have my geek-cred revoked I think I'll leave it at that. Hope y'all have a Happy Easter and I'm sure I'll be back to talking about Aquaman's suckiness or the awesomeness of Jubilee or something equally unimportant here soon :P

He may not have psychic powers, but kenetic powers...

Even though, its on hiatus at the moment. Every time I watch Psych, one thing is made abundantly clear... The star James Roday would be perfect if they ever make an X-Factor movie or any other kind of X-Film with Multiple Man in a large role. Seeing his Hi-jinx as Shawn Spencer week after week makes me think of the awesomeness of having a scene with 5 or 10 of him having an argument over how played the leader of the Cobra Kai's in Karate Kid, or whether or not Humphrey Bogart actually said, "Play it again, Sam." In Casablanca.

With Our Powers Combined...

So, this week I've been re-playing the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance and though I enjoy the game. There are quite a few characters I wish this or the sequel would have made playable and that is what I would like to talk about to day. Which means another list (WOO-HOO!!). For those of you who haven't been here before. I'm a cat that really enjoys make lists. If I can find any excuse to make up a list you better believe I will use it. With that said here is a list of the character I think they should use as playable characters if (or when) the do a third Marvel Ultimate Alliance.

Firestar - Mainly, so I can form a Spiderman and his Amazing Friends team. Since both Spiderman and Iceman have been playable since the first one I think it's only fair to include Firestar in the next one.

Madrox - Granted both him and Firestar are bosses in the second Marvel Alliance game its just not the same and actually, I think it would be great if they included a bunch of X-Factor characters. Including (besides Jamie, Natch); M, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy,Siryn, Beast and, Havok. Plus, it would be fun to have an all Madri team. lol

Jubilee - Because, I love her and think she should be in all things Marvel.

The New Mutants - Or at least Cannonball, Magick, Sunspot and, Warlock (since, I already include Rahne in the X-Factor list).

Kitty Pryde - I'm actually kinda shocked she wasn't in any of the games yet.

Cloak and Dagger - They've had bit part and stuff but making them playable would be so awesome.

Hank Pym - really any of his personae would work.

Well, that's the list. Looking back its a bit mutant heavy but what can I say. I'm a mutie lover. After all if it wasn't for the X-books I would've proably stopped reading Marvel all together years ago and this is my site after all. Agree/Disagree drop my a line about your picks. Have a good wekkend and I'll see ya when I see ya.

A Geeky Confessional

Taking a break from my New Mutant love I figured I'd confess you to you my faithful reads about some of my darkest secrets (okay, they're not really that dark or that much of a secret,lol). But, I feel the need to make a confessional of some of my nerdy likes. Since, I don't really go into this stuff all that much I figured I'd let my guard down and share this stuff with all ya.

I still love Spiderman and his Amazing Friends. I don't know what it is about this show. But, something about it just hits all my geek buttons. Maybe its something about the joys and wonder of childhood and my memories of sitting in front of the TV as a young lad and watching the adventures of Pete, Bobby and Angelica or maybe its just that this was just an awesome show that has stood the test of time alot better than the shows it competed against back in the day. Who knows.

I enjoy collecting lots of GL paraphernalia. From Green Lantern rings and shirts and my Green Lantern jacket. It probably doesn't hurt that my favorite color is green and sadly, I am still waiting for them to make a GL bowling shirt.

My New Mutant love. Since I have made a few posts on this one. I won't go into much detail other than I really dig this book.

Jubilee! If you have read this blog with any regularity it will become apparent that I am a bit fixated on Ms. Jubilation Lee. It all started as a lad when I purchased the X-Men's Atlantis Attacks Annual which featured a short Jubilee story in one of her first appearances and ever since then. I have been smitten.

Since, i don't want to give away all of my geeky secrets I think I'll leave it at this before I depress myself and must get drunk until this shame no longer saddens me.
Good night and good luck :P

The New Mutants (coming to Disney XD soon)

After yesterday's post I've decided to keep the New Mutant love going. So, today I thought I'd spend some time and go into further detail on the idea I posted (in one of my very first posts on here). The idea was that (among others) The New Mutants should have an animated series based on their adventures. For me this idea is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. After all, you could stealth get kids into the Marvel Universe by using this team that not many of them have heard of, and maybe their parents haven't even heard of this team. Plus, you get to tell stories that haven't been told a million times before. Which seems to be the many problem of what to do when you bring one of the A-list comic book characters to the small screen and there as an offshoot of this you can tell stories that are nearly direct lifts from the original New Mutants book and the kids will think these are brand new stories. Of course, now that Marvel has been bought by Disney, I feel this would be even more advantageous. So, on that note this is how I would break down the series:




Season 1 - The formation of the team. Professor X must find these "new mutants" that are appearing around the world before Donald Peirce and the Hellfire Club find them and turn them into criminals. This season would have Spiderman, the X-Men and, the Fantastic Four. The season ends with Karma's disappearance and the team going on to look for Roberto's Mother.

Season 2 - The New Mutants begin learning how to use their powers responsibly. As well as Learning to work as a team and trust each other with their lives. With season begins with the New Mutants finding and saving Roberto's mother from a group of goons. Which leads into them them discovering Nova Roma and befriending Amara Aquilla (though I would probably drop some of the Roman stuff and make it more South American). It would also have Kitty Pryde join the team and the season ending with the team being forced into attending the the Massachusetts Academy. With the X-Men and Hellfire Club guest staring.

Season 3 - Would open with the New Mutants escaping from the Massachusetts Academy and Ktty leaving the team. After that it would feature the arc where Rahne and Roberto gain Cloak & Daggers powers and the addition of Cypher (Doug Ramsey) to the team and ending with the Demon Bear Saga and Magick joining the team. Guest stars would include Cloak & Dagger, Spiderman and the Avengers along with a couple of X-Men.

And if it was lucky enough to get a fourth season this one would include the addition of Warlock, as well as the Legion storyline and the introduction of Strong Guy as Sam reconnects with Lila Chaney and the team learning what happened to Karma and attempting to rescue her from her Uncle's control. Guests would include Multiple Man, Dazzler, Kitty Pryde,Strong Guy and Banshee.

Well there you have it Disney (and Marvel) my pitch for a New Mutants cartoon. Now all you have to do is give me a bunch of free passes to Disney land and world and I will write the entire thing (and of course, make sure to credit Chris Claremont).

Some New Mutant Love

Ya know I realised today that I haven't written about my love of The New Mutants in awhile. One of the things that brought this on was me finally getting a copy of The New Mutants: Classic Vol. 4 and chatting about it with a couple of people. So, in an attempt to rectify that, I figured I would do some of that today. First I would like to talk about how disappointing it was when they killed off Doug Ramsey. To me this was a wasted opportunity, he could have been one of the most effective mutants. After all his power is that he can understand all languages. Think about that for a minute. Besides, using it to translate and communicate with all the countries of the Earth and all the alien races of the Marvel Universe, he can also understand body languages (much like Batgirl before she learned to speak) of both humans and non-humans. But, he could also understand all computer languages. Just going with the computer and body language aspects would be like combining the skills of Oracle and Cassandra Cain into one character. Just doing that would have made him into one of the most badassed characters around, then you add in his powers as the best translator in the MU and you have one very powerful mutant.

Next I would like to talk about (again), how one of the things that separated the X-Men from other teams of superheroes and really made them stand out (at least for me). Was the Xavier School. As I've written on here before this is one of the worst parts of that whole House of M fiasco in my opinion. Without the school there isn't much difference between the X-Men and any of the other superhero teams and to keep this post on subject. I would like to add that one of the things that I really enjoyed back in the day about reading The New Mutants was the whole the junior varsity team vs. the varsity team rivalry between the new mutants and the X-Men, especially in the story arc of Kitty Pryde joining the New Mutants and how she felt like it was a demotion from her place on the X-Men.

Finally, I would like to spend a little time on how good this series was in its character work. From the first issue up until Rob Liefeld began working on the book you could really see the through line of the growth each character developed through out the series. From Sam becoming more comfortable as a leader to Rahne gaining more self confidence as well as becoming more comfortable in her own skin. Even the development in both Bobby and Danielle of learning to work with a team and each becoming less implusive in their actions. I could go on and on about all the things I love about this book. But, I think this is a good stopping point.

A Ranty Review

So, I finally broke down and watched the live action G.I. Joe and since seeing it I have been talking every one's ears off about how terrible this movies is. I figured I'd better write these things down here before I lose any friends or family members over my incessant nit picking of this movie. Now, It's true that I still enjoy the
80s cartoon, but I hardly call myself a die hard fan. I don't own any G.I.Joes and I've only read a handful of their comics... Still this movie was terrible and before you read ahead (just in case you haven't seen this terrible terrible movie). This review (rant) is chocked full of spoilers.

After watching I really believed that this was written as a futuristic military movie and during the second draft on of the producers thought that they could change a few names in the script slap the name G.I.Joe on it and they could collect more money and get it made easier. Watching this movie I could not find any choice the director made as being passable yet alone the correct choice. First there's the lame explanation of G.I.Joe that goes along with Duke and Ripcord's recruitment. this was so lame, I really wish more directors would get the advice Mike Baron gave me when I should him my comic book ideas. Show Don't Tell!!! They spent way to much time explain the concept of G.I. Joe when they could have saved so much time just dropping you in a la Star Wars and letting you discover this world as the plot unfolds rather than just using every military movie cliche to over explain everything. Next there's "The Baroness" whose so lame the cartoon version would pimp slap the taste out of her mouth if the two ever met.

This movie feels like the writers did absolutely zero research while making this movie. Zero. Probably the least offense is making Ripcord black. The flashbacks of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow I felt were better than the actual movie. The film makers completely ruined The Baroness, turning her for a hard as nails femme fatale who is ruthless and will betray anyone friend or foe to accomplish her goals. Into a weak brainwashed damsel in distress. Whom is rescued by her former boyfriend Duke. It's really sad that the cartoon is more brutal and has stronger characters in both the protagonists and antagonist than the movie. Seriously, the actually toned down The Baroness, Snake Eyes and Destro's origins. WTF! I repeat the toned down their origins.

Actually, compared to the 1987 movie, they toned down just about everything in this version. Now, I don't want to be one of those folks who trashes something without giving ways they could have made this a decent movie. Sadly, I feel if they would have done any of these and kept everything else the same this movie would be a keeper rather than I punishment not permitted by the Geneva Convention.

First, they could have had more Joes in the background, hell in the workout scene alone they could have had 8 or 10 non speaking extras that could be identified in some form or another. Like having a guy on the treadmill next to Scarlett with a large tattoo of the Marines emblem on his chest or a guy in a red football jersey grabbing some weights or a guy wearing a Union Calvary or a Red Socks hat picking up weights. I mean this is supposed to be an ultra elite branch of the military and they only have 5 members and one of them never leaves the office? LAME. They could have had Xamot and Tomax in a meeting with Destro just wearing business suits with Cobra tie pins and I would have been happy.

Another way is if they had not changed Snake Eyes and The Baroness' origins so much making them pansies compared to their animated doppelgangers. Hell, the girls from W.I.T.C.H. could win a tussle with these characters. The director and writer could have learned a lot if they would have approached this project the way J.J. Abrams approached Star Trek and, though I'm not much into Star Trek that movie actually made me rethink my beliefs about Abrams and his talents (or lack there of). This movie also has the problem of stealing its biggest piece of action from Team America and actually doing a worse job at it. Seriously, if you are thinking about finally seeing this movie go watch either G.I.Joe: The Movie (1987) or Team America and you will have a much more entertaining viewing experience. This movie should be used in film school as how not to make a movie and by that I don't mean as an adaption of another work or as reworking of an old franchise I mean a just a general movie. The professor and his students should have the writer(s) and director visit their classes (or attend them to learn what film making actual is) and have the students go over it scene by scene and tell them how off the mark they were in each one. I honestly believe these film makers should personally give back every dollar that this movie made to us poor saps that sat through it.

Shhhh... It's a Secret

Reading Kalinara's latest fun meme, got me to thinking about my favorite characters and to share with you fine folks about some of the secrets and/ or guilty pleasures I believe they have and enjoy. So, here ya go :)

Jubilee - Is way smarter than Kitty Pryde, but she hides it because she would rather play video games than reprogram the Danger Room.

Big Barda - Her favorite thing to do when no one is around is to play with Barbies.

Booster Gold - He has thought about trying out for American Idol, but doesn't think he has a good enough voice or that the audience has the proper respect for Blondie. His audition song would be Rapture.

Guy Gardener - Secretly wishes he could draw as well as Kyle.

Superman - would actually perfer being a farmer or a reporter rather than a superhero.

Bruce Wayne - His favorite band (though he would never admit it) is The Cardigans.

Alex Summer - Way better at crossword puzzles than his brother Scott.

Well, there you go there's my list of secrets that I think these characters are witholding from the general audience.Hope you enjoy it :)

Away My X-Men

Lately, I've been thinking about the X-Men and the different things I like about them. This train of thought then brought me to how much "House of M" really bugged me. Besides de-powering one of my favorite X-Men (the mighty and awesome Jubilee). It also really annoyed me how much they shrunk the mutant population. One of the things I dug about the X-Men pre-House of M was the variety in mutants and powers and how the different groups within the Xavier Institute. Of all the things I miss about the X-Men and their affiliated "X-Teams" the pre-House of M variety and the combinations that led to make my really miss those days. sadly, stories like House of M have become a trademark of Joe Quesada's editorial run at Marvel. After all who would of thought after this terrible story we would have the whole Civil War fiasco followed by Peter Parker selling his soul to the Devil and getting a divorce out of the deal. One the plus side it looks like they're finally undoing a couple of these stories and even though DC has been better at the major event promotions as of late. One of the things that really has been bugging me about both companies has been the whole Nothing Will Ever Be The Same!!! events. Of course, the main reason I'm not a fan of these events is because, the only thing that makes one of these events stick is wholey dependent on how good the story is. After all once another writer takes over a book (s)he is able to throw out the stuff they don't like while keeping the continuity they either like or were fans of back in the day and in teh end I guess, even us fans have the power to do that as well and in my X-Men Universe Jubes is still a mutant and the kids that starred in the X-Men Academy books are all still at the school and they all still live in New York state.

Even Buttmonkeys Have a Good Day

When I can (which is mainly when I remember too,lol). I enjoy watching Batman: The Brave and The Bold. So far, I've really enjoyed the show, I like it's light and fun tone and enjoy its pairings of Batman with wide swaths of the DCU. Through all of this the thing that most surprised me (especially, if you're a longtime reader. Hi Mom!) is that some of my favorite episodes are the ones with Aquaman in them. I have been enjoying their characterization of him quite a bit. The episode that really brought this to my attention was the one in which Aquaman is supposed to be on vacation with Mera and Arther Jr. and he keeps sneaking off to fight crime. Plus, it always brings a smile to my face when I hear his catchphrase, "Outrageous!!!" something about that just really tickles me in a happy place.

WOW! What a year

Although, the official anniversary of this blog isn't for anther couple of days. I figured I would post about it today. When I first started this blog, i didn't think it would go on for this long especially, since I set a rule for myself to post Monday thru Friday, and although I haven't been able to keep up that amount postings. I'm still enjoying the forum this gives me to talk about comics without watch the eyes of my friends glaze over. I still have no clear no long term plans for Monkey Knife Fight. However, I do plan on posting more than I have in the last few months and to keep this blog going as long as I have something to say about comics and other nerdy pursuits. I have really enjoyed this last year and the positive feedback I have received from writing on here. Hopefully, this year will have a lot less drama and I can stick to an at least semi-regular schedule when it comes to posting. Though, I have dropped the 5 day schedule permanently I will do my best to post more than once or twice a month. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who reads Monkey Knife Fight as well as the bloggers that have linked to me, especially, the guys that run Comics Make No Sense and Random Happenstance, I was a huge fan of their blogs before finally, getting up the courage to start my own and have my little ol' blog on their blog roll, feels me with pride. Thanks to everyone who has read these posts and to everyone who has left a comment and don't worry I will be returning to my mocking of Aquaman shortly (I haven't forgotten about doing so,lol). With all that said. On to a new year of Monkey Knife Fight....

Fool's Gold: A review

For my first post of the new year I thought I would try something different and try to write out a review for one of the books I have really enjoyed. I didn't really set out with any master plan but I just finished re-reading Fool's Gold by Amy Reeder Hadley and thought it would be fun to write up a review of it and hopefully get a couple of people to check it. But, before we get to the book itself I should probably give you my faithful readers a little bit of background on how I came to be in possession of this fine book. Last year I went to Comic Fest (for the first time) here in colorful Colorado and while I was there one of the the writer/artists I met was the creator of this tome, Amy Reeder Hadley. It was pretty cool, though I must confess I wasn't all that familiar with her work before meeting her and really the thing that really piqued my interest in her work was that she had her sketch book open for folks to come by and check out and when I got up to her table it was opened to some of the Sailor Moon sketches she had done and in high school I was a huge Sailor Moon fan, no matter which channel it moved to or what time it aired (even when it started airing here at 6 a.m.) I always tuned in and would be totally bummed if I missed an episode. So, back to the story I flipped through her Sailor Moon drawings and remarked on how much I used to love that series and after chatting for awhile I decided I needed to get some of her work, so I picked out a copy of the first book of her Fool's Gold series and she was nice enough to sign it and draw a neat little sketch for me in the inside cover. So, these facts along with her being a native Coloradan like myself made it extremely hard for me not to like this book upon my first reading of it and if you ever get the chance to meet her Amy Reeder Hadley is a total sweetheart. As you could probably tell by reading this so far I was quite biased in my first reading of this story. Well, since that time (nearly a year since then) a lot of things have gone on in my life some good, some bad, some completely awesome and some completely terrible and the other night as I was getting ready for bed and trying to find something to read before dozing off I figured I go with this story, and boy am I glad I did. Now I'm not really the target audience for this book seeing how I'm a 30 year old hetero male, rather than a teenage girl which is definitely the target audience of this manga. However, even through this second reading I still enjoyed the story quite a lot if not more. If you haven't read the story and I encourage you all to check it out. The story starts off with the main character Penny a fledgling fashion designer who is starting her sophomore year of high school and dealing with her best friend Katie dating a complete jerk whom cheats on her and how Penny keeps trying to get Katie to leave this tool. While reading about pyrite for her Geology class she stumbles upon a classification for the jerks she sees Katie and all the other girls in school fall for and it's during this Geology class the teacher asks for a volunteer to head up the Geology club. This gives Penny the idea to use the cover of the Geology club to get the girls of her school to stop chasing the jerks and look for nice guys to date. Now as a nice guy (and I'm not just that I have references)I enjoyed the idea of girls seeing through the slickness of the douchebags they usually go for(or atleast, did in high school)and seeking out the nice guys in school. Another thing I really loved about this story were the outfits Penny wears,she designs and makes all her own clothes and some of the designs Amy comes up with for the character are just so cool. Plus it doesn't hurt that she mostly wears dresses and if there is one thing I love more than anything else it is seeing a girl in a dress and speaking of the clothes the costumes Mrs. Hadley draws for the school Halloween dance, are just awesome. This story has just gotten better since I've read it again and after reading it the first time I went out and got a copy of Madame Xanadu which Mrs. Hadley also did the artwork for and the issue I picked up by sheer coincidence happened to be the last issue with Amy Hadley doing the artwork on before a new team took over the book. Well, I don't know if this is the best review you'll read for this book. But, I just wanted to share with you fine folks out there on the Internets and Interwebs how much I truly enjoyed reading this book and hopefully turning some of you on to Amy Reeder Hadley's talents as a writer and artist. Plus, I think I may have promised a little more in depth talk on this subject in my posts way back when I first commented on here about the fun time I had at Comic Fest all those months ago.