Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, talked a whole lot over the weekend about his future plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He didn’t reveal a whole lot of super interesting stuff, but he did talk about his plans for the upcoming Jon Watts directed Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland. He apparently wants it to be reminiscent of a John Hughes movie. I know that may sound like a good thing, but when he went on to elaborate and say how important the teenage drama will be, and how he wants it to be like a soap opera in high school he basically made a movie I’m dreading anyway sound like the worst thing ever. But there will be new villains – most likely hormones and puberty though. Yay…another Spidey movie, but this time with more teen angst and cliques. Source: Birth Movies Death
Disney is developing a feature length film based on the life of Charles Darwin. All they have revealed so far is that it will be an adventure movie, and that Stephan Gaghan will write and direct. Source: Deadline
More TV spots for Ant-Man were revealed over the weekend and this movie just keeps gaining momentum. People seem to have the same feelings for the upcoming film as they did for Guardians of the Galaxy last year. It seems an unlikely property to bring to the big screen, but as the release date gets closer fans are getting more and more excited. I think Ant-Man is going to be awesome. Source: Screen Rant
It is my duty to inform you that new rumors are gaining ground about Star Wars: The Force Awakens and new character Rey’s origins and lineage. HOWEVER, I have not read any of them, as I am keeping myself a Star Wars spoiler-free zone and each article I went to warned me to turn back. If you would like to read more about the rumors, follow the source link below. Source: Making Star Wars
Even though Star Trek Beyond has only just begun production, rumor has it that stars Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine have already signed on for a fourth film. Source: THR
We’ve all heard the buzz that Warner Brothers/DC want to reboot Green Lantern to fit into the new DCCU. Rumor has it now that the film will focus on both Jon Stewart and Hal Jordan, and that the fan campaign to get Tyrese Gibson in as one of the Lanterns may have actually worked. Tyrese said that he cannot talk about it at this point, but whatever happens is the fans’ fault. I suppose we’ll just have to wait until SDCC to find out more. ET
It was a tough weekend to be a new movie as the top 10 spots were almost entirely dominated by movies that have been out for weeks, or even months.
1. Jurassic World $54.2 million
2. Inside Out $52.1 million
3. Ted 2 $33 million
4. Max $12.2 million
5. Spy $7.8 million
6. San Andreas $5.2 million
7. Dope $2.8 million
8. Insidious: Chapter 3 $2 million
9. Mad Max: Fury Road $1.7 million
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron $1.6 million
There are three new posters and a minute long TV spot for Ant-Man. The noticeable difference from previous posters and trailers is the direct reference to the Avengers. Ant-Man will have little to no connection with the group of super heroes. So why connect them now? Maybe projections aren’t that high? Maybe it’s a reminder that Ant-Man will be in Captain America 3: Civil War? I’m not sure.
The TV Spot only offers one new scene. And if you guess it had to do with a mention of the Avengers, you’d be right.
The posters are the cutest part of the new releases.
You’ve met the A-Force, now Marvel is pulling out all the stops to introduce it’s “next big thing.” The line-up for Marvel’s All-New, All Different brand is going to be a mish-mash of some of your old favorites, and new characters you may have never seen before, so let’s dive in, shall we?
Here are a list of the characters, and which books you can find them in (that we know of). Clockwise, we have:
Agent Phil Coulson (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.): These people have to report to somebody. He’s the guy with a gun surrounded by people with super powers.
Spider-Gwen (Spider-Gwen): Gwen Stacy and her readers hit the jackpot when it was announced she would be a regular in the Marvel U.
Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man): Yep, Peter Parker is still around, doing Spider-stuff. No surprise here.
Iron Man (Superior Iron Man): Tony is on his way to becoming a total d-bag. Sorry, let me clarify – a totally unlikeable d-bag. The new suit suggests that he does not hold on to his symbiote-Extremis armor much longer.
Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales (Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man): The end of the Ultimate universe means that Miles will have a new home alongside the 616 Peter Parker and a slew of familiar Spideys.
Red Wolf (time travel back to 1972 for his 9-issue solo series): Not to use the “T” word, but I’m hoping this resurrected character isn’t a token move, just to sell books under the guise of diversity.
Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel): Ain’t no party like a Ms. Marvel party cuz a Ms. Marvel party don’t stop.
Thor, Jane Foster (Thor): After the recent reveal that the new Thor is Jane Foster, and that she is dying, what the heck will become of her going forward in the MU?
Ant-Man, Scott Lang (Ant-Man): He’s not your father’s Ant-Man, that’s for sure. Scott Lang is twice as hilarious, and hasn’t created a killer robot – so he’s already winning that debate, in my books.
Steve Rogers (Civil War): After passing on the mantle of Captain America, Steve Rogers is just an old man who knows how to do nothing but fight (I see you, Solid Snake!). Could he perhaps take over Nick Fury’s duties?
Captain America, Sam Wilson (All-New Captain America, Captain America and the Mighty Avengers): The former Falcon has his work cut out for him if he’s going to remain in Rogers’ shadow. He’s fully capable, though, and has a bit of a mean streak I didn’t know about.
Black Panther, T’Challa (New Avengers, Avengers): Even if it’s just to hype him up for his solo film, give this man something to do, Marvel! This is the guy who just recently went to war with Namor. T’Challa is a fan favorite in need of some resurrection, and Marvel doesn’t have to do much work to make that happen; he’s not Aquaman, for crying out loud.
Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman): Another Spider-person carving a space of their own in the MU. She’s smart, sassy, and hopefully has a bigger role to play as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. going forward.
UPDATE: A second team was announced today.
Same thing, clockwise from the top left, here is the second team and where you can find them in comic books:
Doctor Spectrum (New Avengers): After being murdered by Black Bolt, she is making a comeback here.
Rocket Raccoon (Groot): It wouldn’t be the MU without him at this point.
Hyperion (Avengers): A new Hyperion joined the team with the Marvel NOW! reboot, one without the image of being a bootlegged Superman. I’m interested to see where he fits in the MU, but this new costume looks better than the previous ones.
Iron Man: Is him being the centerpiece of both images a sign of something? It seems unlikely that Marvel would do that incidentally; could this be indicative of a two-Tony dynamic like the one from Ultimate End. Who doesn’t want more Iron Man?
Daredevil (Daredevil): Oh. Em. Gee… Is that the Shadowlands version of Daredevil? I hope it’s not something lame, like just to emulate the homemade suit on the Netflix series. I would much like to see Matt Murdock back in control of the Hand.
Doctor Strange (Secret Wars): He’s currently serving as Doom’s bitch-boy in the Secret Wars series, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay like that. He’s still one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and seems to be carrying an Asgardian axe – one used specifically for kicking ass, and then taking names.
Old Man Logan (Old Man Logan): Has Logan outgrown the X-Men? This very surly version of an already-very surly character is going to be an odd, but intriguing, fit in an MU with so many mutants and heroes in it. I’m thinking it will be like reading Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with superheroes… if the role of Kimmy was played by Hugh Jackman.
Star-Lord (Legendary Star-Lord, Guardians of the Galaxy): Last we saw Peter Quill, he proposed to Kitty Pryde… IN SPACE. Good luck following that one up, fellas. That’s a hell of a loose end.
X-23 (All-New X-Men): Doesn’t really matter your take on the situation, but X-23 looks BAD ASS as the new Wolverine. Kudos to Marvel for bringing back the original colorway. Total fangasm for her taking over the mantle.
Medusa (A-Force, Inhuman, Inhumans: Attilan Rising): This cutie with the long red hair is part of the A-Force, an all-new, all-female team of badass women, but more recognizable as part of the royal family of Attilan.
Human Torch, Johnny Storm (Uncanny Inhumans): Johnny has had a ridiculous journey the past couple years. He died. He was resurrected. His spot on the team was taken by Spider-Man. He lost his powers. In short, it sucked to be Johnny Storm. That is, until some Terrigen Mist helped Johnny find his powers, and a new team.
Karnak (New Avengers): Here’s a guy who doesn’t look like he belongs… You may remember this guy as the one who jumped out of a window and killed himself before the Terrigen Mist spread and created so many Inhumans.
The Thing : Whether he’s feeling self-conscious about his rock-hard abs or just trying out a new fashion style, Ben Grimm is back and rocking a Guardians of the Galaxy suit – one that matches Rocket, who is perched on his shoulders.
Citizen V: This guy (whomever it is taking up the mantle) is so flamboyantly patriotic, he’s like the Elton John of America. Even Steve Rogers is like, “dude, tone it down.” The concept of Citizen V (vee) has been around since World War II, and whose death led to the creation of super soldier Steve Rogers. His new iteration looks like the lovechild of Batman, Captain America and Spawn.
Agent Carter premiered two nights ago, and boy was it good! We now feel we should learn how to climb an electrical fence without being electrocuted and jump on top of a moving car without dying. The numbers were decent, too. Congrats on the 6 million viewers and the new heroine of TV, Marvel! Source: TV by the Numbers
The Agent Carter episode also featured the full-length Ant-Man trailer. Check it out below:
The Netflix release date for Daredevil will be April 10th, 2015. It’s a Friday, so you should be able to binge watch and not have to call in sick to work before gossiping at the water cooler on Monday morning. Congratulations. Source: Marvel
Dysentary is just a click away! The Internet Archive just released a ton of MS-DOS games for free. Including Oregon Trail. Source: Internet Archives
The People’s Choice Awards happened. Needless to say, the people got it wrong. Source: People’s Choice
Everyone’s favorite scientist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, will be getting his own late night talk show, Star Talk, to air on the National Geographic Channel. Set to air later this year, the series will be based off his current popular podcast of the same name. Source: The Wrap
Did you know that Vince Gilligan, the brain behind BreakingBad, and David Shore, the brain behind House, are creating a cop show for CBS called Battle Creek? Well now you do. And here is the trailer:
Are you craving a little pizza and Turtle Power? Well you are in luck, because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season 3 continues this Sunday. Source: TV Guide
Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) has been cast in The Flash. Surprise! The Weather Wizard is coming… and it wasn’t the guy from the first episode. Source: EW
Rocksteady games may have just ruined the Arkham Knight for gamers everywhere. A picture surfaced of the limited edition statue, implying a major plot point of the game. We won’t spoil it here, but you can check it out at the link. Source: IGN
New Comic Book Releases: G Willow Wilson takes over the all-female X-Men, Mortal Kombat X digital release, and some unique new books in: Ant Man, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and IXth Generation.
Hardy har har. Everybody got a great laugh out of the itty-bitty Ant-Man trailer; here’s the full-length teaser. It should erase any hard feelings you had about the upcoming movie. Source: YouTube.
IDW Comics is acquiring Top Shelf Comics (March). I don’t think this will make any severe changes at IDW, but it is nice to see “the little guys” stick together. Source: IDW.
The first episode of the mid-season for Gotham, “Rogues’ Gallery” is in the books and our review is up.
In a week, Marvel Comics previews Star Wars #1, and in preparation, have released a butt-ton of variant covers for it. Bleeding Cool has been nice enough to gather them all in one neat little post. Bleeding Cool.
An Eisner Award-winning writer is coming to Spawn, via Todd McFarlane. Source: Facebook.
In television, Empire, black-ish and American Horror Story all make their debut tomorrow.
Hector “Tio” Salamanca fromBreaking Bad joins Constantine as Felix Faust.
The guys at Marvel Studios are cruel, cruel people. To hype up the upcoming Ant Man movie, they released an itty-bitty teaser of the upcoming film. I sure got a laugh out of it, and I hope that the studio can be as jovial with the movie going forward. Source: YouTube.
It’s truly not a New Year until Hip-Hop artist Mad Skillz winds down the previous year with his “Rap Up”s. Behold: “2014 Rap Up.” Source: YouTube.
Yargh, maties; this might be news for all you scurvy torrent dogs out there. The Pirate Bay may back up and operational within the next month. It’s all speculation, but the site that was a hub for illegal downloading before being shut down a month ago could be back up and running soon. Source: Yahoo!
Ready for all the tag team glory of Green Lantern and Green Arrow?? Well, lucky for us, Green Arrow #37 (out next Wednesday!) will see one of the best team-ups in the comic book histories. Source: DC Comics.
In Marvel news, Jessica Drew will be getting a bad-ass new costume in Spider-Woman #5 and it looks pretty freaking cool. It’s reminiscent of the redesign that Babs Tarr gave Barbara Gordon in the new Batgirl series, but much cooler looking. Source: USAToday.
While Gotham might not be the show we are most excited to return, the fact that Inara (Morena Baccarin) from Serenity/Firefly is gonna be playing Dr. Leslie Thompkins should be enough to sell the second half of the season. It will be great to see her back on screen. Source: IGN.
Comicpalooza takes place in Houston, TX. This year, Hush Comics was given the honor of going as press, our first time for doing so. Read all of the accounts of what happened on our site!
In what seemed like a covert operation straight from the pages of Marvel, myself and Hush contributor Taylor Lowe were whisked out of the line we were standing in to see the legendary Stan Lee. A woman approached us in the line and grabbed our press badges, examined them closely, asked who we were with, and quietly said, “Come with me.” What else were we to do? Along the way, we were told to look for others like us. As we briskly walked past fans waiting in line, we were hoping to find other recruits who looked like us, or rather had the same badge we did. We were excited, but also a bit worried we had stepped out of line for nothing. As it turns out, we were led to the front row adjacent to the main stage, after passing security with a gruff “We’re press.” As we took our seats, our very own Nick Fury introduced herself as Rosario. Rosario Pena is the media relations director for Comicpalooza, and was able to set us up with a lot of cool opportunities over the weekend. So this whole story was really a way to say “Thanks Rosario, from Hush Comics!”
Stan Lee truly is “The Man.” He is 91 years old and still going strong. He is very good at not skipping a beat when asked questions many people ask. He is also a bit of a comedian. Lee started off by saying Houston, Texas has the greatest people in the world for bringing him here, but obviously everyone wants him.
Before his question and answer session, moderated by Fox 26’s Dave Morales, began, Lee joked, “Ask easy questions!… No, ask me whatever the hell you wanna ask me! It’s been a long trip; a man gets tired.” When asked about his origin story, he went into great detail. No, he did not expect his characters to become what they are today and have been for decades. Why did he get into comics? “I just wanted to keep my job and pay the rent.” He told the audience about hearing about a job at a Magazine Management. He ended up in the comic magazine department as the assistant of the other two employees, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, legends in themselves. Lee’s job was to fill ink pots and edit. Over time he was given stories. Then suddenly Kirby and Simon were fired, leaving Stan the only person on his department at 17 years old. The magazine owner said, according to Stan, “Hey, kid. Can you run things until I hire a grown up?” Stan continued that as time passed the manager forgot about him, so he became the writer, the editor, the art director, the everything. He wasn’t necessarily proud of his work, though. In that time, “nobody had respect” for his genre and he was ashamed to tell people that he worked on them. He wanted a real job in the magazine. When asked what he did for a living, “I’d say, ‘I’m a writer’ and walk away. They would ask ‘Of?’ ‘Magazines’ and walk away. ‘What magazines?’ ‘Comics.’ And then HE would walk away.” Of course, he isn’t ashamed now and got over his humiliation once he started going to conventions and seeing the variety of fans who loved his work. Awww!
Stan Lee at his panel at Comicpalooza 2014.
Stan spoke about being a child and what inspired him. Since comics weren’t exactly mainstream when he was a child, it was interesting to hear what did inspire him. He talked about reading a lot. He enjoyed Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Edgar Allan Poe. He also told the audience he can recite “The Raven”, the infamous Poe poem, by heart. If anyone has a video of Stan Lee reciting that poem, send it our way ASAP. Lee said that his goal in life, like all writers, was to write the great American novel. “I never got around to that.” I have to disagree. Lee has written canon for the most read characters and staples of American pop culture of all time. Stan also talked about his time in the military during the war. His job was to write training manuals that the troops could easily read. He also made training videos because their were so many troops, they couldn’t be trained fast enough. He also confirmed that it was during this time he got to work with Dr. Seuss and Frank Capra. He said he was the only one doing work because they were too busy talking about how great they were. Oh, Stan.
Lee touched several times on his acting dreams. He said many times that we may see his roles in the current Marvel movies as “cameos”, but he sees them as supporting roles. He joked that he is an enormous acting talent now. He also said that if he had to pick a career other than comics, he would be an actor. He idolized Errol Flynn. When asked what he would have done as an actor, he quipped, “I would have won an Oscar.” He also teased his next “supporting role” in Guardians of the Galaxy, cracking that his role has nothing to do with the movie and he thinks the director was drugged wen he decided to put Lee in that role.
Stan Lee in Hush’s favorite supporting role in Amazing Spider-Man
Stan talked briefly about his beloved superheros, too. He talked about three in particular. Of course, one of them was Iron Man. He talked about how popular he is of late and credited Robert Downey Jr. with much of it. He spoke of the origins of Iron Man as a character. Lee took the chance of making him during the time of Woodstock. It was a challenge to make a man who was about money and weapons–everything hippie kids were against, and make them like him. The only thing about Iron Man he didn’t like was how his armor was drawn, but that was because nobody could take that much time on it. He, however, does like how it looks in the movies. Lee also admitted that if he were to cosplay, he would dress up as Iron Man, but mostly so he was protected. Otherwise, he would be Dr. Strange.
Another character on deck was Captain America. While Lee did not create the ‘Cap, he did bring him back. First, he changed the shape of his shield from a triangle to a circle. That was all Lee. Then he gave him a problem, something Stan is fond of doing to his characters. “I wanted to make him distinctive in some way, so I thought if he was brought back from having been frozen in the ice years ago, and 20 or 30 years of history had gone by that he was unaware of, and when I started writing him, it was when there were hippies and people hated the military, industrial complex, and all of that. And he didn’t understand that sort of thing because he grew up in a time when everybody was just patriotic and nobody rebelled or protested. So, I tried to make him seem like he was an anachronism; he felt he didn’t belong in the age he was living in.”
While Stan talked briefly about many of his heroes, he expounded upon Spider-Man, not only the character, but the inception of the book idea itself. He admitted that Spider-Man is his favorite creation. It was also the one he wrote where he could maybe say “I am Stan the Man,” as asked by an audience member. He then told an amazing origin story for how Spider-Man came into existence which you can hear here. He also said the hardest character to write was Green Goblin. It took a lot to “dream him up” but once he did, the writing was easy. Oh, and another tidbit? Stan Lee didn’t know Mary Jane, or MJ, was a nickname for pot. But because of the coincidence, everyone thought he was “so cool.”
Stan Lee’s Amazing Fantasy 15. The birth comic of Spider-Man.
Other amazing things that happened during Stan the Man’s panel included a fan saying “You’re my hero,” and Stan responding, “I would expect that.” His best advice for aspiring creators is that there are no tips. The only way to create it to “dream it up.” He also talked about how hard it is to name a character. He talked about wanting to name a character “The Destroyer.” When he looked up if that character existed, he got mad and wanted to know who did. Turned out, it was him, but he had forgotten. A little girl asked “Who is your favorite girl character?” Stan said She-Hulk, no doubt because of the recent controversy surrounding her. He also said he really liked Mary Jane. Stan is surprised any superhero is still around, but now is confident they will be around forever, crediting the movies for that. When asked about bad guys and their perpetual baldness, he was surprised. He wondered aloud why the good guys are always good looking and the bad guys are sinister. He said they should make the villain Brad Pitt and the good guy Boris Karloff. He then rejected Brad Pitt and put himself as the handsome one. Finally, would Stan change anything. “No, I can’t think of anything.”
As far as Stan and his future plans go, he has a lot more work than the average 91 year old. Being the chairman of Marvel, he is working on Guardians of the Galaxy, Antman, Black Panther, and Dr. Strange. They will make more Iron Man movies and more Captain America movies. He is also working on a Latino superhero. There is a script written and there will be an actor cast soon. With his other company, POW! Entertainment, Stan is working on a Chinese American hero called The Annihilator. He also has a character out in India called Shakra the Invincible, and we will be coming to the U.S.A. soon. How does Stan wrap it all up? With a giant “EXCELSIOR!”
Hush Comics 
