Comic book video games have well documented crapiness with a few shining gems.  The problem is comic book geeks (like me) want these comic book games. We want to feel like Spider-Man, and Superman, and Batman.  These are the comic books game that will best bring to life a new super hero experience.

7. Flash

A sandbox Central City might not be on everyone’s Christmas list, but it’s the only way to do Flash justice.  This speedster needs a huge environment to zoom through, fighting Gorilla Grodd, Mirror Master, and Reverse Flash as he tries to save his wife and kids (this is the Wally West Flash, Barry Allen’s unlockable). Key battles pit you against teamed up villains for high pressure boss battles.

6. Real Iron Man game

The recent Iron Man game unfortunately sucked. But this awesome character should be a video game staple.  Let’s revamp the controls (more control, less speed) and focus the campaign on the Mandarin and his rag-tag group of baddies. The twist is this is an action/business simulation game.

In Mega Man-esque level choosing, you fight Whirlwind, Dreadknight, Crimson Dynamo, and more. Give us some epic boss battles with Fin Fang Foom and Ultimo and even a Dr. Doom sidequest.

The business sim comes from Tony Stark. You choose how to run Stark Enterprises, with some investments making the company more valuable and other investments making your armor more powerful.  By running the company well, you make money in order to buy those upgrades and other armor types. If you run the company badly, Justin Hammer will buy it up and you won’t be able to upgrade your armor.

Continue reading…

Annoying brothers and sisters affect even the greatest heroes and villains of comic book world.  These pairs (and quartet) of spandex wearing freaks make sibling rivalry a moral lesson for us all, and page filler until the next battle.  These are the siblings worth watching fight and frolic, no matter the awkwardness.

7. Starmen, Jack and David Knight

The original Starman, Ted Knight, had two loving sons with different take’s on their father’s career choice. David quickly followed his father into super heroics while Jack looked down on the colorful profession. After their father’s old foe, the Mist, murdered David did Jack take over the Starman mantle. With the Cosmic Staff and a pair of goggles, Jack Knight fought crime with the annual assistance of his brother’s ghost, who imparted wisdom from the beyond to help Jack foil the doers of evil.

6. Northstar and Aurora

Canadian super-siblings Northstar and Aurora spent most of their youth separated after their parents’ death. The two coincidently reunited as members of Canadian super-team Alpha Flight, discovering they earn bonus super powers when in physical contact. When the two touched, they emitted a beam of light that made people feel happy and peaceful. How sweet. The power didn’t work on themselves, however, since they had a falling out leading Aurora to augment her powers so she never needed to touch her gay brother again. Homophobe.

Continue reading…

There are many factions within the geek community, most viciously opposing and plot the death of other factions. Just try to get a Star Trek fan to agree with a Star Wars fan on anything. The truth is there is a hierarchy of geeks, and geeks in higher parts of that hierarchy are well in their power to look down on those lower in the hierarchy, the same way jocks and cheerleaders look down on all geeks. This list ranks the geekiest of geek hobbies in, well, order of geekiness. Enjoy one of these doesn’t make you a bad person. Just really, really geeky.

7. Star Wars geek

When it comes to sci-fi geekdom, Star Wars wins. It’s just huge, with every comic book, novel, action figure, and video game to collect, memorize, and horde. No other single franchise can match this insanity.

How to know if you are one: You have read anything Star Wars related outside of the 6 movies

Wastes money on: Anything Star Wars related outside of the 6 movies

6. Anime

Pokemon has helped turn anime into a less embarrassing hobby, as long as you are younger than 12. Once you his puberty, it’s time to hide those big-eyed cartoons and start watching South Park. But some geeks can’t break the habit. They just love the speed lines.

How to know if you are one: You understand anime

Wastes money on: Subtitle software and Japanese lessons

Continue reading…

One of the greatest Star Wars video games owes it all to those little building blocks called Legos. Lego Star Wars gave the duel trilogy a hilarious and enjoyable romp through the galaxy with tons of collectables, vehicles, and playable characters. More Lego games including the just released Indiana Jones and upccoming Batman lead me to wonder what else can the franchise build.

7. Power Rangers

They might be campy and kiddy, but they still have awesome video game potential yet to be realized. Awesome martial arts moves with cool weapons and giant robots all to fight a bizarre assortment of monsters. With hundreds of monsters, Zords, and different kinds of Power Rangers over the years, there’s tons of unlockables to give this game long legs. Just remember co-op. This is a team effort.

6. South Park

Let’s see the mature side of Legos by turning the foul mouthed kids of Colorado into colorful blocks of fun. Let’s even risk the cliched sandbox approach, rebuilding the entire town of South Park in Legos with missions from the show, like fighting vicious turkeys and Mecha-Streisand.

Continue reading…

Rich people are great to watch, but sometimes the staff is even better. While the rich makes fools of themselves, their butlers have to clean up the mess - whether its chocolate sauce all over the living room or a dented Batmobile. These butlers make our lives, the viewers, better for all the work they do…and don’t do.

7. Geoffrey Butler

An accomplished Olympic runner and Oxford University alum, Geoffrey Butler left England after cheating in a race and getting slapped by the Queen. Thus his career in buttling was realized in the sitcom the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, providing the Banks family with much needed sarcasm.

6. Edwin Jarvis

Iron Man’s invaluable butler Edwin Jarvis has become a staple of the Marvel Universe, offering his skills to the entire Avengers and Fantastic Four, helping host alien dignitaries and babysitting super powered children. He’s even served the Avengers for their entire existence, longer even than Captain America.

Continue reading…

Stan “The Man” Lee made his career helping create the Marvel Universe, but in his twilight years, Stan has gotten a second career in movie cameos. Stan Lee has appeared in almost all Marvel Comics movies and makes surprise appearances in TV shows, cartoons, and the occasional DC property. This list ranks the geekiest, most comic book friendly Stan Lee cameos with no bearing on the actual quality of the movie (it’s almost an inverse relationship).

7. The Hulk as security guard with Lou Ferrigno

Not only was this Stan Lee’s first speaking role in a Marvel movie, but “The Man” got to work security with the original Hulk, Lou Ferrigno in a double whammy of geekery.

6. Fantastic Four 2 as rejected wedding guest

Poor Stan Lee. He co-creates almost the entire Marvel Universe, but he not one even sends him a wedding invitation. Stan Lee arrives assuming it was an over sight only to be not only turned away, but not even recognizes. How shameful.

Continue reading…

One of the best parts of any geek movie is debating the casting. Fan favorites are chosen years before comics or books even get optioned by Hollywood, so we feel strongly about our opinions. While dreams can’t always come true, and rarely do, here are some of the best performances by actors portraying our favorite geek icons.

7. Chris Evans as Human Torch

Amid the bright and perky mediocrity that is the Fantastic Four movie, Chris Evans shines surprisingly bright. Even without being blond, Evans played the arrogant, womanizing, spotlight stealing narcissist as if he lived the role everyday. Every funny like came from this man’s mouth. On top of that, but this guy has a real super-hero’s body, and filmmakers didn’t seem to mind showing off that fake, regulating Evans to nothing but a towel or spandex for the majority of both films.

6. Mickey Rourke as Marv

Innovative film techniques alone didn’t make Sin City one of the greatest comic book movies. Mickey Rourke portrayed Sin City’s most recognizable hero with all the subtly of a fist to the face, just the way he should. Rourke mixed Marv’s self-hatred with a chiseled exterior, eventuated by the awesome visual effects, creating the perfect movie representation of the modern film noir bad ass.

Continue reading…

7. Mastermind

The manipulative master of, shockingly, minds, had the power to create illusions, making people see what isn’t there.  He greatly amplified his powers using a mind-tap mechanism to create an all-new reality for Jean Grey, who at the time was possessed by the Phoenix.  Mastermind’s fantasy world led to Jean Grey becoming the evil Dark Phoenix, destroying solar systems and killing billions.  Sure Mastermind didn’t mean to be such a dick, but that’s what happens when you play with fire.  If only he could master that too.

6. Mirror Master

Three people have held the mantle Mirror Master, showing just how popular mirrors can be.  The most recent Mirror Master, Evan McCulloch, not only can use mirrors as dimensional portals (hella cool), but he also speaks with a Scottish accent.  This has no bearing on his addiction to cocaine.

Continue reading…

LITG pointed me to a program that allows you to download comic books from Marvel’s digital comic service.  Almost every streaming service on the web from YouTube to Last.Fm have been hacked to allow users to easily download media in convenient and portable formats.  LITG says after they contacted Marvel about the software, Marvel DCU was changed to render the software useless.  The downloader was quickly updated and works again.

Marvel’s digital comics, as I wrote about last year, are a good start providing a small but unlimited amount of comics for a monthly fee.  Aside from the sparse selection, Marvel failed to include a download option to let users put comics on their hard drives or portable devices, which is one of the major attractions of pirated comics.

Marvel continues to learn hard lessons about file-sharing, from suing torrent websites to now fighting a ripping tool.  Just as fast as Marvel updates their website, the developer updates his software.  If Marvel updates its site again, it’ll start am arms race that costs them time and resources, but just gives this developer more publicity.  The developer is giving out his software for free; he can stop anytime. 

As Sony, Apple, and every software company can attest, fighting pirates is a full-time job.  For some bizarre reason, these companies are willing to waste resources just to fight these developers rather than embrace them.  Marvel could license this downloader for a fraction of the cost is would have taken to develop themselves, maybe throw an ad on it, and give it out so people can get more value for Marvel’s digital service.  It would inspire more people to join.  As long as Marvel regularly updates the digital collection, subscribers will have a reason to keep paying the fees. 

Marvel shouldn’t worry about downloaders sharing comics they download: people already scan every new comic on the day of release in higher quality than Marvel provides.  So Marvel already has competition that still wins with every feature: greater selection, better quality, and free.  Making an unstable service with small selection and DRM isn’t going to convert anyone.

I don’t mean to condone or glorify the acts of these, disturbed individuals. The truth is serial killers are damn captivating characters, with their arrogance, creativity, and lust for blood. It’s fun to root for the villains, these deplorable cretins obsessed with death and destruction. These are the coolest serial killers who you don’t want to meet in a dark or even well lit alley. (Spoilers included)

7. Michael Myers

The featured killer of the Halloween movies, Michael Myers began his career killing his older sister. Fifteen years later he escaped his sanitarium, returning to his home town to kill teenagers especially Jamie Lee Curtis who managed to fend off the fiend long enough for help to arrive. But after every movie, Myers manages to survive gunshots, car crashes, explosions, and more to return again for more murder and mayhem.

6. Norman Bates

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho inspired a generation to take baths. Bates suffers from dissociative identity disorder, dressing up and pretending to be his mother. He developed this to deal with murdering his mother who spent years abusing him. His classic shower murder of Marion Crane remains his crowning achievement, but anytime Bates, or his mother, were threatened, the mother took over and took care of business.

Continue reading…