“Respect My Craft” – Neal Adams

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

 

Click on the link to take you to all of our Denver Comic Con 2014 “Respect My Craft” articles

 

Name: Neal Adams

Profession: Comic Book Artist

Notable Work: Batman, Green Lantern, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali

“That’s the difference between DC and Marvel comics: all the characters at DC, because of their history, were all all sparkly-tooth Americans; they smiled, they had good jobs, they had secret identities. At Marvel, Jack [Kirby] convinced Stan [Lee] that the four characters who would go off into specae, be bombarded by cosmic rays, and come back as monsters. All [the Marvel stars] were essentially monsters turned into superheroes. Over at DC we had golden-toothed heroes. Even the new guys: test pilot, lab scientist. It’s still the difference between the two companies. When people talk about Spider-Man and his personality problems, it’s all part of the monster side of the superhero genre as opposed to DC. Batman is the closest to the Marvel characters that DC has.” – Neal Adams

 

Neal Adams is still a juggernaut in the comic book industry for nearly 60 years. The amazing artist may not have gotten to Batman until over thirty years into his inception, but he and Denny O’Neil’s portrayal has shaped the way the character has been portrayed since. His story started with being initially rejected when he tried to get with DC Comics. Adams ended up working at Johnstone & Cushing, doing comic book advertising (something he’s continued to do with his company Continuity Associates). After that, Adams found some work pencilling for Archie, then drew the Ben Casey comic strip with creator Jerry Capp, based off the medical drama TV series.

This experience, and his connections with Capp, helped serve him as ghost-artist for a few different series, including Peter Scratch, written by Jerry’s brother, Elliot Caplin. He was eventually offered a gig on The Green Berets, a war story, but turned the book down because it was set in Vietnam, during a time when he and many Americans were opposed to the war in Vietnam. This was more a political statement about the Vietnam War specifically, as Adams was a fan of war books, in general. A lot of DC’s books were war-related at the time, and it was something that Adams enjoyed. His gritty and rough action sequences made him a great fit.

From there, he did covers and mini-segments for various late Silver Age titles like Action Comics and Detective Comics, which gave him a reputation for doing a lot of covers. Eventually, he was given his first full superhero issue, World’s Finest #175. Adams was even asked to redraw a Teen Titans story, where creator Marv Wolfman was planning to create DC’s first black superhero, Jericho. The idea was shot down by Carmine Infantino, and Neal Adams came in to clear the air. DC was notoriously conservative at the time, whereas Marvel already several black superheroes. Adams decided to try his hand at Marvel, while still freelancing at DC. He found the company “more friendly, a lot more real” and enjoyed that they executives there “were not as oppressed as the people at National were.”

DC wasn’t about to let their All-Star walk to Marvel, so they gave Adams the opportunity to work with writer Denny O’Neil. The two would go on as one of the greatest tag teams in comic books. Their work on The Avengers, X-Men, Green Lantern, The Flash and, of course, Batman. Their portrayal of the Dark Knight made a sharp turn from light and campy to dark and grave. The Batman we know today is a direct descendant of the work those two men did.

One of my favorite stories they did  was the Green Lantern/Green Arrow arc. After being the artist that gave Oliver Queen his patented facial hair, the superhero duo tackled real issues and ushered in an era of more humanizing characters. Drug addiction was explored in the shocking Green Lanern #85, where it was revealed that Speedy (Green Arrow’s sidekick) was a drug addict. Adams and O’Neil also wrote from everything from pollution to racism, making it a highly-relatable book – but not necessarily a high-selling book. After the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series was cut, Neal Adams moved onto some big projects. He worked on the very first inter-company book, Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man in 1976. Another crossover of his that was very well-received was Superman vs. Muhammad Ali. The book took the hero out of the pages at put him against a real life icon, humanizing him even more, which is ironic for an alien. To really put him in the realm of real-life heroes, Adams gave the intricate cover a personal touch, including celebrities, superheroes and political figures adorning the background. The cover was so iconic that it was altered to include Michael Jordan vs. Muhammad Ali in 2000.

Following this book, Adams formed Continuity Comics, an independent publisher where he could really flex his creative muscle. The company lasted over a decade, and created dozens of titles. Having his own company meant that Adams and his team weren’t held back by censorship, so violence and eroticism were a staple in the series. Continuity also got caught up in the variant craze of the early 90’s, packaging issues with glow-in-the-dark, chrome-plated, and hologram covers. Some of the issues contained posters, trading cards or stickers. Awesome for fans, bad for business. Continuity didn’t make quite the splash some of the other independent published did in the 90’s, but it was still a dream come true for Adams.

Recently, Adams has been working on Batman mini-series. In 2011, he wrote and pencilled Batman: Odyssey, a twelve-issue run that took the Dark Knight back to his early 70’s roots. He also was featured in the newest Batman: Black & White, a compilation of short stories. Neal’s story was about an awesome-looking zombie Batman. It’s even getting its own Black and White statue.

Comic books aren’t Neal Adam’s only passion. He is also a huge science buff, and has a website and YouTube channel dedicated to his thoughts and research, attributed to the work of geologist Samuel Warren Carey and his theory of an expanding Earth. There’s some really heavy stuff in there, and even if you don’t agree with the theory, there’s some certified science in there, and it took Adams 30 years to grasp the concept on a scientific level. There’s a lot to learn from this man, at and away from the drawing table.

Neal Adams is a legend. He’s won multiple awards for his art, and has been inducted into the Will Eisner and Jack Kirby halls of fame. With Denny O’Neil, he helped create the modern ethos of Batman, and helped initiate comic books into the Bronze era. On top of all that, he’s a pretty swell guy! He’s been to every comic book convention we’ve attended, and he always has a great story to tell, not to mention one of the coolest merchandise tables of any artist attending. Lucky for us, Mile High Comics will be hosting a pre-Denver Comic Con party in just over a week, and Neal Adams will be there.

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties. Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with Star Trek: The Next Generation star and Fact or Fiction: Beyond Belief host, Jonathan Frakes.

“Respect My Craft” – Lou Ferrigno

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Click on the link to view all our Denver Comic Con articles!

Name: Louis “Lou” Ferrigno

Profession: Actor, Body-builder

Notable Work: The Incredible Hulk TV series (1978-1982), Hercules (1983), Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989), The King of Queens (2002-2007)

“The Hulk was a unique character because of his strength and power. He doesn’t have a costume like Spider-Man or like Superman – The Hulk is more visual. His passion and his strength, that is what separates him from anything else.” – Lou Ferrigno.

 

 

Want to hear something crazy and exciting?! Lou Ferrigno and all his muscles will be at Denver Comic-Con this year! Due to his accomplishments both in the entertainment industry and his personal life, we at Hush only feel it is appropriate to show our respect for the man who once picked up a bear and through it like a mile away into a river…no lie.

Louis Jude Ferrigno, better known as Lou was born on November 9^th, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Growing up Lou was a skinny, introverted child who struggled coming to terms with who he was. As a young boy he had an ear infection, which caused nerve damage, ultimately leading up to him loosing 80% of his hearing. Lou wasn’t perfect in his father’s eyes, yet he taught him to never feel sorry for himself.

Without a doubt,   Ferrigno was a huge comic book fan who looked up to heroes such as Spider-Man and most of all The Hulk. Because he was so introverted, he fell in love with comic books because they were very therapeutic for him. It gave him a vision of who he wanted to be and the power he could one day have. He would stare into comic books and find a sense of peace, relief, and solace with them like many comic book fans do. In fact, comic books were what influenced Lou to start body-building. Seeing the Hulk, with his muscles and power, made young Ferrigno take his first step toward becoming the person he grew up to be.

Lou simply became obsessed with working out, and how pumping iron made him feel. That power and that feeling never went away. He entered his first body building competition when he was 19, and took 23rd place. That loss motivated him to never lose again. He started putting in twice the effort and achieved quadruple the results. After that first competition, he never took less than 3rd place. Through his stupidly cut muscles and his put-others-to-shame strength he has earned a victory in IFBB Mr. America, IFBB Mr. Universe, and Mr. Olympia. I’m not jealous at all, nope.

During the time when the production of The Incredible Hulk was starting to get under way the director casted 7‘2’’ Richard Kiel, who is famously known for playing the infamous Bond villain, Jaws, to play the green goliath. However, one day, the director’s infant son told his father that “that man” (Richard Kiel) couldn’t be the Hulk. Curious, the father asked his son why not. And the son told his dad that the Hulk has a lot of muscles and that “that man” does not. BURN, RICHARD KIEL!! Rethinking his approach, the director decided to call Lou Ferrigno and offer him the role. For Ferrigno this was a dream come true, being given the opportunity to play a hero he has always looked up to.

While filming the television show there were certainly ups and downs. For one, Lou absolutely hated spending the time in make-up. Between the four hours to apply the prosthetics, body paint, and hair and the hour it took to take all that off, Lou was eager to get through the day of shooting. Due to his unique body, Ferrigno had to perform his own stunts which often left him uneasy. I don’t know about you all, but I would be unsure too if I were doing stunts like running through walls, doors, and glass, and even jumping off of high surfaces. But in true Hulk fashion, he gathered the courage and plowed through those doors, walls and glass, and jumped off those tall building and landed right into our hearts.

Even through those less favorable times, Ferrigno never lost motivation. With long days of filming ending at all different times of night and day, he always found the time to gather himself and make it to the gym for a work out. I’m still not jealous. And even though Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno went through several changes (HA! Get it?), Ferrigno’s thoughts and appreciation for the Hulk never changed. He has said time and time again that even though a lot of people thought the Hulk was a monster, he only saw him as a gentle soul that didn’t want to hurt anybody. Yet, no matter what he did, he was always running because people would still only view him as a monster. Ferrigno wanted to express that feeling when he played the character; because the Hulk was a silent role, he worked really hard to act through his emotions to convey his thoughts and feelings.

Well, you know what they say, you can take the Lou Ferrigno out of the Hulk, but you can’t take the Hulk out of the Lou Ferrigno. Or is it the other way around? I’m not sure. Either way Lou and the Hulk didn’t split ways once the television series ended. He has made an appearance in both Hulk films (crappy and Incredible) and even voiced the Hulk in The Avengers and the animated series. Sadly, he didn’t get to say “Puny God” but all of the grunts, huffs, puffs, moans and roars all came from the original. And with the new Avengers movie set to drop, Lou has said he will be right there once again to make poetry come out of the Hulk’s mouth. There is even rumored to be another solo Hulk movie come out after Age of Ultron, and I am willing to bet my metaphorical Incredible Hulk #1that he will make an appearance in some sort of way once again. Once his stretch with the television show was over he focused a lot of his attention back to fitness and created Ferrigno Fitness. Selling his own equipment, having workout and diet plans for the masses Lou looks to turn the world incredible. He even has a 12-week program called, Incredibly Fit.

Yet like I said before, comics will always be part of Lou’s life and this is evident with the work he has done with one of Denver’s most notable comic shops, Mile High Comics. That’s right, all you puny humans out there, the Incredible Hulk has a partnership with OUR local comic book store. For years now they have been teaming up with various different ventures. He often sits in on booths for Mile High Comics, where he signs autographs, takes photos, and just chats it up with fans; 2014 DCC this will be no different. He will even be at the Mile High Comics warehouse for the opening night party on June 12th at 5:00pm. Lou represents the Mile High City, from doing simple signings, to attending mega-store sales, and even sitting at Mile High Comic’s booth at the San Diego Comic-Con for six out of the last seven years. Maybe because our altitude is higher, it gives him an opportunity to train harder. Either way, Lou Ferrigno has shown major love when it comes to the Denver comic book scene.

Lou with Mile High Comics’ owner Chuck Rozanski at their booth at San Diego Comic Con

So when it’s all said and done, why does it matter? It matters because Lou Ferrigno IS the Hulk. He made this character what he is today, and gave him relevance. From the anger he felt as a child, growing up to be this powerful being showed people that you are not bound by your circumstances. If Lou was never the Hulk, the character would simply be seen as “that big green guy that always acts like someone pissed in his Wheaties.” But because of Lou, the Hulk is more than that. He is more than the monster people see, he is the rage filled goliath in purple pants that stole our hearts. Lou has said, “The truth is, I’ve been the Hulk my whole life…The Hulk was the beginning of me, a platform as an actor to grow. I don’t think anybody else can play the Hulk like I could. I was able to show emotions even with all of the makeup. I don’t think it can be duplicated.” Honestly, I’m inclined to agree with him. Lou Ferrigno is the Hulk, and the Hulk is Lou Ferrigno, and it is impossible to love one but not the other. And due to what he has achieved in life, and the character he has brought to the screen I will forever be an Incredible Lou fan.

 

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties. Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con as we spotlight Star Trek: TNG and Reading Rainbow star, Levar Burton.

“Respect My Craft” – George Pérez

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Name: George Pérez

Profession: Comic book artist

Notable Work: Wonder Woman V2 (1987-1992), The New Teen Titans (1980-1984), The Avengers (1975-1980)

“While I have enjoyed considerable professional and personal success with both Marvel and DC, it was becoming all too evident that many of the books being produced by both companies seem to be getting more and more corporate driven. Many of the characters I grew up with were turning into strangers whose adventures were determined by factors that had less and less to do with what made a good comic story and more to do with how these properties can be exploited for other purposes.” – George Pérez

 

The term legend is thrown around a lot in comic books, but trust me when I say that this gentleman, George Pérez, is in that club. A career spanning over forty-years, Pérez has had his hand in just about every corner of DC and Marvel. This forefather’s road to fame wasn’t an overnight one, though. George Pérez comes from humble beginnings; he was born in the Bronx as a second generation (mainland) American, born of blue collar Puerto Ricans, George knew he was going to be an artist from an early age, drawing his own characters and stories since he was five years old.

Pérez is a self-taught student of art, helping him get a position with Marvel Comics as an assistant to Fantastic Four artist Rich Buckler after networking at a convention. At the time of Buckler’s call, Pérez was working as a bank teller (I know how that feels…). He wasn’t handed great projects right away; Pérez had to work his way up to the big titles. He began his career writing a few pages for various small books, and ended up gaining experience from pencilling hand-me-down titles and books that were expected to die soon. Back in the mid-70’s, team books weren’t all the rage like they are today. This stemmed from the fact that artists were not being paid royalties yet (that wouldn’t begin until the early 80’s), so the appeal of making the same amount of money for drawing ten characters just wasn’t there.

Enter George Pérez, the man with the unmatched work ethic. In 1975, he started drawing Avengers and Fantastic Four, both of which he would draw in stints until his departure to DC Comics in 1980. Team books became not just a way to keep work, but turned into a trademark of his. He gained a reputation for doing great group panels, with an unprecedented level of detail – much before the digital age made it a less strenuous process. Pérez insists that he does not have a favorite superhero, which really has drawn him to do more team-oriented books. His ability to fit so much into a panel, and not distract readers’ attention from the story, is a quality that can get lost at times today – thanks to the use of over-scripted scenes.

The role of the penciller isn’t just to draw out the writer’s instructions. Both are on the cover and both are credited as creators because the comic book medium calls for a written story that is built upon the illustrated world the penciller creates – and the colorist and inker accentuate. When Pérez drew Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds with Geoff Johns, who was a huge fan of Pérez, he showed Pérez the amount of scripting that has to go into a “George Pérez panel,” which was a thick stack. Pérez refuted that a script gives him nothing to do, and that the relationship between writer and artist should be a symbiotic one, where they build off each others’ ideas.

Pérez has been the penciller for some of the industry’s most iconic book stories. Among his most renowned work is: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinity Gauntlet, War of the Gods and the Wonder Woman reboot. He was also the penciller for the crossover event, JLA/Avengers – which took almost fifteen years to see the light of day. The iconic JLA/Avengers #3 cover is home to a ridiculous amount of DC and Marvel characters in a Who’s Who of superheroes. Pérez’s best working relationship was with Marv Wolfman, with whom he created the Teen Titans, an idea that Pérez was certain would fail. While they struggled to dissociate team from the X-Men, the book was a huge success. The New Teen Titans isn’t the only contribution Pérez has made to comics; he’s also attributed to creating (or co-creating): Cheetah, Deathstroke, Ravager, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, Nightwing (not Dick Grayson), and a LOT more.

In the New52, Pérez gave his hand at writing Superman after he has promised creative freedom. Unbeknownst to him, his book was slaved to Grant Morrison’s Action Comics. As amazing as Morrison is, he is very vague and not forthcoming when it comes to his approach to writing. Frustrated, Perez was glad to get off the series after the first arc. After leaving his last DC Comics book, World’s Finest, Pérez joined BOOM! Studios, a smaller company, as an exclusive writer and penciller, given actual creative control over his own books. Left on bad terms but harbors no ill will, just didn’t like direction DC & Marvel were going. He is currently happy writing his own creation, Sirens, and touring the country for various cons, where he has a great rapport with fans.

Outside of the comic book work, Pérez has been known to work for organized charities such as: The Charlotte Firefighter’s Burned Children Fund, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, Make-A-Wish, as well as the Florida Hospital Diabetes Association and The Juvenile Diabetes Association. He is a founding member of The Hero Initiative, a non-profit designed to help comic book creators in need.

For charity, The Hero Initiative sells “100 Project” books, a collection of artist covers

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties (DC Comics). Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with Arrow star, Stephen Amell.

We Can Do It! Black Widow

“We Can Do It!: Women in Comics, Television and Beyond” is Hush Comics’ answer to what women in comics mean to the world and to us  Visit our page every Monday to learn about a new super lady!

*Note: Yes this article is late.  Yay for jet lag from ECCC and hey, I thought it would be cool to publish when Winter Soldier actually came out.  Oopsies.  

Who:

Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow

Nicknames/Aliases:

Black Widow, Natalia Romanova (ok that’s her given name for you aficionados), Czarina

Skills:

Advanced combat skills and training, acrobat, ballerina, slowed aging due to Soviet experimentation, and a great knowledge of how to use a gun.

Origin Story:

Like most Marvel heroes, Black Widow has been retconned.  Either way, her history is way sketchy.  I guess that is what happens when a girl is trained by Russia to be a spy and is genetically mutated.  Yup, so that is basically her history.  Her real name can either be Natasha Romanoff or Natalia Romanova.  This just adds to her mystery.  She was trained by Ivan Petrovich, and in her retcon, by the KGB.  She has been experimented on to make her age slower and make her more agile.  She has also had her memory altered so she doesn’t remember significant chunks of her life and is given the memory of being an esteemed ballerina.  Originally, Natasha was sent to kill Iron Man.  She wore an evening gown with a sweet cat-eye mask with a veil over her face.  She was also raven haired before she had her fiery red mane.  She met Hawkeye and convinced him to help her.  After a failed mission, she was kidnapped by the KGB and brainwashed to kill the Avengers, of which Hawkeye was a member.  Because she had fallen in love with him, she eventually found the light side and became good ole American.  She also became the 16th Avenger.  She has found herself in a romantic relationship with many Marvel characters, mainly being the main squeeze of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, but she also has been with Iron Man, Captain America, and Bucky Barnes.  In her current issues, she is an independent spy who sometimes takes jobs with Nick Fury’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Notably, Black Widow saved Wolverine from the HYDRA and was a leader of The Champions which included Hercules and Ghost Rider.  She led them to battle with many baddies including The Stranger and The Crimson Dynamo.  Yeah, she pretty much has done everything.

Why is she important?:

Let me count the ways as to why Natasha Romanoff is important.  Ok, first, she currently is the female face of The Avengers.  I mean she is carrying the entire female population in all the current movies.  That’s a lot to handle.  And all this is just my opinion of course, but I really think she is the inspiration for two of my other favorite women: La Femme Nikita and Echo from Dollhouse.  As far as La Femme Nikita goes, she was also a Russian spy who was used as a tool for the government.  And Echo?  Well, Natasha was also brainwashed and supplied with false memories.  She was made to be super strong and acrobatic.  So were the Dolls.  Pretty cool, I think.  Not only that, but Natasha has kinda saved a lot of our favorite superheroes.  Like, their lives.  Oh, and she’s smart, witty and can kick a lot of ass.  I’d say she is really important not only for the Marvel Universe, but to women ad little girls who go to the movies and read comics.  Thank you, Miss Romanoff.

What she means to me:

Honestly, before The Avengers came out, I had limited knowledge of who Black Widow was.  But considering my celebrity doppelgänger, Scarlett Johansson, played her, I needed to find out as much as I could.   As a little girl, I used to play spy.  Didn’t every little girl?  Ok maybe about half of us.  Anyway, Black Widow is the woman I think of when I wish I had a different life, except in my head, it is a more glamourous world without all that experimentation.   Now that I know tons more about her, I think every girl should idolize her.  She is a woman who has been through hell and back, is smart as a whip and can kick some serious ass.  Yup, pretty much one tough as nails chick.  And that’s why I love her.

Natasha Romanoff in the 1960’s

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Me as Black widow a few Halloween’s ago!

The current Natasha in 2014’s Black Widow by Marvel

photos belong to Marvel

 

written by Adrian Puryear

Weekend Wrap-Up… February 9, 2014

Ubisoft is re-releasing the original Far Cry on the PlayStation and X-Box Live networks this week.  If you are the girlfriend of a gamer, you should plan on not seeing them over Valentine’s.  Just a tip.

Yoshi’s Island and the 3DS are being sold as a bundle.  Slurp!

Flappy Birds ended as quickly as it began.  So long people who won’t talk to you because they are too busy tapping their phones like madmen.

Sonic is going to be a television show on Cartoon Network.  It will be fully CGI and they kinda look weird.  Honest opinion.  Check out more here.

Batman is back.  More than likely, there will be a new Arkham game released.

Kotobukyia is pretty much the best in figures right now.  So it only makes sense that they are releasing new Arkham figures.

The Age of Ultron will feature MIss Marvel.  They also cast The Vision.  Assemble!!!

Will Smith declined to star in the Independence Day sequel.  Now how will we survive the alien invasion?!

The novel Redshirts is being adapted into a mini-series on FX.  Sci-fi nerds will have to wait for this one though, because it looks like the series still needs a writer.

A little late, but Huey Freeman will be gracing your screen again.  Season 4 of The Boondocks premieres April 21st.

The new series Gotham cast its Jim Gordon.  Ladies will definitely approve.

Zombeavers is destined to be the film of our generation.  And the tagline is truly amazing, “You’ll all be dammed!”

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are developing a show for AMC based off the comic series Preacher.

The Olympics are happening.  And its super controversial.  But take the time to watch this.

Oh, and The Walking Dead premieres tonight.  Read our predictions here.

written by Adrian Puryear and Sherif Elkhatib

Thor: The Dark World Review

Genre – Comic Book/Action/Fantasy

Director – Alan Taylor (Thor, the next Terminator film)
Cast – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba
Alluring element – Rides off the coattails of The Avengers, Lots-o-Loki, Natalie freakin Portman 

Check it out if you liked – The Avengers, comic book movies, dry Whedonesque humor

 

Plot – 6
Acting – 8
Representation of Genre – 8 
Cinematography – 9
Effects/Environment – 9
Captivity – 8
Logical consistency – 7
Originality/Creativity – 7 
Soundtrack/Music – 8
Overall awesomeness – 7
Natalie Portman Tom Hiddleston offset - +5

Thor: The Dark World opened with $85.7 million worldwide – not bad for Disney. Acquiring the rights to Marvel films has secured their studios rank among the movie franchise greats. Fanboys can breath a collective sigh of relief. Our nightmares of Professor X sing-a-longs with teacups and woodland creatures can finally be laid to rest. The integrity of our beloved comics has, for the most part, been maintained with only a few noticeable slights along the way, ahem, Iron Man 3.

You lost me at gratuitous…. and totally worth it.

The story is cliché and simplistic, so lets get that out of the way. There was a war, the bad guys tried to obtain a weapon that would defeat the good guys and when they lost, the weapon was buried deep where no one could find it until an unlikely character stumbled upon it and was consumed by its power. The bad guys searched for it and they found it and before they could wield its true power, then they were defeated again by a brave warrior. So in other words, Thor 2 is basically a 120 minute version of The Lord Of The Rings. It even has elves, but its lack of original script is forgiven, more so tolerated, by its incredible CGI and the always adorable Natalie Portman.

Why be an astro-physicist when you can be The Phoenix.

Carrying an entire movie on one name can be a stressful task. Disney was betting on riding Hemsworth’s pecs to a big payday, but the box office can be unforgiving if an A-Lister can’t deliver. Leading roles are becoming exceptionally dull. The overtly moral, one-dimensional character apparently bores writers like Christopher Yost of Dark World. Man of Steel is a perfect example. I can hardly remember Henry Cavill even being in the movie, but Michael Shannon made me a life-long fan with his portrayal of General Zod (“I WILL FIND HIM!”). The list goes on: Kevin Bacon owned First Class, Alfred Molina in Spiderman 2, and we are all aware of Ledger’s glorious performance in The Dark Knight. With that being said, “I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose!” Thor 2 can attribute its success to its villain, played by Tom Hiddleston.

As a prisoner of Asgard he kept our attention, pacing his cell like a lion at the San Diego Zoo. His facial expressions read as predatory. Loki is a thinker. He is planning 3 moves ahead of the game. He took us by storm in Avengers. He stole every scene and was just as entertaining as Downing, if not more. He clearly has mastered the art of delivery, placing a breath where it is needed before a line for dramatic effect. It was such a relief to see an actor jump so effortlessly into a role. He is most definitely the best written character as well. Delivering beautiful rebuttal lines like:

Thor: I wish I could trust you.
Loki: Trust my rage.

In one scene he stabs Thor in a ruse to fool the Dark Elves. It was so well done that even the audience was fooled and we once again had a reason to hate and love his character.

This is that part where you give me my own movie.

The remaining cast does not disappoint. Idris Elba had my favorite scene as Heimdall, guardian of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. At one point, he jumped from the bridge onto one of the Dark Elves warships in an attempt to thwart their invasion. He is a one man army. Plus his armor is sick! The always sarcastic Kat Dennings delivers a wonderfully dry comic relief role as Darcy Lewis, proving that Zooey Deschanel doesn’t have the market cornered for brunette hipsters. Rene Russo has clearly aged. No longer the MILF of the Thomas Crown days, she plays a great sentinel of Asgard wielding a sword to protect Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman.

The real test of Thor will be whether or not the man with the hammer can defeat The Girl on Fire. The first Hunger Games movie opened at $152.5 million worldwide. Catching Fire will prove to be a good draw and take a large chunk of Thor’s future box office. Traditionally, a Hollywood heartthrob would have little to worry about keeping 14 year old girls and work-from-home moms in the seats, but with the over-all badassery and girl power of Katniss Everdeen on the other side of the aisle it is clear that Thor’s numbers will take a strong dip.

I was super excited for the release of The Dark World, mostly due to the extraordinary job done that was done with his character in The Avengers, so there was an expectation to begin with. Admittedly, I held the film to a higher standard going in. This score is almost all attributed to Hiddleston’s flawlessly deviant characterization of an inconspicuous comic villain. He needs a franchise. Hopefully he will make an appearance in Age of Ultron. I am still a little bummed that James Spader beat out Vin Diesel for the voice of Ultron, but hey, it could have been Affleck.

written by John Soweto